The Oncoming Storm
by Greed720
Summary: A tempest is coming, one that will take the world by storm. Its name, well its name is Perseus Jackson the Son of Poseidon. The question is, can the world handle him?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So hey everyone, I know what some of you are going to say, 'oh no another story', but what can I say. When I get an idea that takes hold I can't help but write it out and see how it goes. Still here it is a nicer tester chapter to see how this story goes down and the response it recieves. So far some of my updates have been having lackluster response by some, so hopefully this hits the mark.**

 **Still I hope you all like the chapter, and are willing to give the story ago.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the DC universe.**

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 1**

 **( - )**

 **(In Washington DC)**

By the time the group of errant sidekicks, angry at what they deemed the disrespect of their mentors, arrived at the Cadmus Labs building, it was to find that the fire that had been started there was still raging. This being despite the fire fighters having already arrived upon the scene by this point, their fire engine already connected up to a nearby fire hydrant, even as they used their high-powered hoses to try and quench the billowing flames.

In fact it was lucky that the group of teen heroes, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin, the sidekicks for the well-known superheroes, the Flash, Aquaman and Batman, had arrived when they did, as were just in time to see the upper floor of the building explode, the explosive force from which propelled two scared and panicking researchers who had been calling for help out of the windows and into the air. Both of them shouting and screaming as they fell from the two storey building and down towards the hard, concrete ground below.

Fortunately Kid Flash chose that moment to run ahead of the other two, and thus upon noticing what had happened, and after a few moments of thought had run up the building, grabbing the two researchers under each arm as he did so, before he then deposited them on the roof of the blazing building Using the momentum of his high-speed run, one which made him little more than a blur to the naked eye, to accomplish the task.

Embarrassingly though this also caused him to lose his footing when he stopped running, as he slipped on the edge of the building, luckily grabbing onto the ledge of the window as he did so, before he too nearly fell to the ground.

"Ohh, it's what his name, Flash Boy!" One of the fireman said to his fellow, pausing in the midst of using his hose, to look to his fellow firefighter.

"It's Kid Flash! Why is that so hard?" Kid Flash asked grumpily as he clung on to the edge of the window, standing out somewhat due to his yellow fully body suit, with a lightning bolt symbol in the centre of the chest, and his ginger hair and red goggles.

As Kid Flash was saying this, his fellow sidekicks, Robin and Aqualad, arrived at the labs, both of them arriving in time to see Kid Flash save the scientists, before he then lost his footing, somewhat ruining the 'coolness' of his previous action.

"So smooth." Robin said sarcastically as he came to a stop next to the still working firefighters. The boy in question wearing a red, green and yellow outfit, with a yellow utility belt around his waist, and a black cloak hanging from his shoulders.

"Does he always run ahead? Because we need a plan." Aqualad, a dark skinned Atlantean, with short white hair and piercing blue eyes, said to Robin, only to notice that the caped and masked boy was already gone, disappearing with a laugh as he shot off towards the burning building without a word.

"Robin?" Aqualad called out again as he looked around, before he then spotted Robin run towards the building, after which he jumped off the fire engine, shot a grapple line at the roof and then entered the building, giving Kid Flash a helping hand as he did so.

"I need to borrow that." Aqualad said after he rolled his eyes at Robin's action, using his water bearers as he did so to borrow the water issuing forth from the firefighter's hoses to instead create a water platform under his feet by using his Atlantean magic/ science, which allowed him to ascend to the roof of the laboratory, where the two scientists were still waiting to be properly rescued.

Both of whom he soon lowered to the ground, and to safety, cleaning up at Kid Flash's half completed attempt at saving them, after which he then used the water he had under his control to put out the flames that were still pouring out of the building, doing the firefighters jobs for them.

"I appreciate the help." Aqualad said a few moments later as he entered the building, the last of the trio to do so, only to see that both Kid Flash and Robin were already snooping around the now all but burnt out and ruined second floor.

"You handled it. Besides, we're here to investigate. Poetic justice, remember?" Robin replied easily, clearly unperturbed by the irritation in Aqualad's tone, or just oblivious to it as he instead focused on the matter at hand.

Aqualad once again rolled his eyes at that, but shrugged it off, more than used to his fellow sidekick's quirks by now. Shaking his head, Aqualad began to look around, keeping a hold of his water bearers, two intricately carved, metal handle like implements, imbued with Atlantean magic based technology, which allowed him to manipulate water like he did, as he did so.

With his primary weapons in hand, Aqualad wandered through the burnt out lab, passing by Kid Flash and Robin as he did so, before he then walked out into the hall. After which his attention was attracted to a sudden dinging sound not that far away. His cold blue eyes flickering up at the sound, only for him to see the silhouette of some inhuman looking, horned creature inside the lift before the doors closed and it started moving down.

"There was something in the-" Aqualad began to say, attracting the other sidekicks attention as he headed for the lift.

"The lifts should be locked down." Kid Flash spoke up quickly moments later, interrupting Aqualad as he and Robin jogged over to where Aquaman's sidekick was standing.

"This is wrong." Robin said immediately as he eyed the lift, using the hologram computer on his wrist to analyse the lift as he did so before he nodded to himself. "I thought so. This is a high-speed express elevator. It doesn't belong in a two-story building."

"Neither does what I saw." Aqualad added in, even as he headed for the sealed doors, slamming his hands into the seam, before with a slight bit of exertion and Kid Flash's help he pried them open, revealing as he did so a large elevator shaft, one that descended far lower than the two storey building would suggest. "Huh, maybe that's why?"

"Whoa, I would not want to fall down that?" Kid Flash stated bluntly as he looked over the side, not even able to make out the bottom of the shaft as he did so.

Robin though didn't react as he instead fired a grapple line at the top of the shaft, before he then used it descend down the elevator shaft, even as Aqualad and Kid Flash grabbed the line and followed after him. The three of them sliding down the grapple line, and passing dozens of floors as they descended far below street level and into the depths of the earth, until a few minutes later Robin's grapple line ended, leaving him swinging fruitlessly in the centre of the shaft.

"I'm at the end of my rope." Robin said simply, before he swung his legs back and forth, building the momentum he needed to swing out and grab the ledge of the elevator entrance to sublevel 26, both Kid Flash and Aqualad following after him as the three of them pulled themselves up and precariously balanced on the ledge.

"Bypassing security. There we go!" Robin said as he knelt down and hacked the lift doors, after which Aqualad once again pried open the door, his blue eyes narrowed as he immediately scanned the hall it opened into.

Looking around the three sidekicks soon found that they were saw looking at a long corridor with metallic walls, and what looked like high-tech security. Suffice to say it was much different than the building they were in a few minutes ago.

"Welcome to the real Project Cadmus." Robin said quietly as he looked around, the other two following his lead.

Moments later, Kid Flash, upon seeing that he had enough room to run again, took off in a blur, using his super speed to his advantage as he dashed off far quicker than a human had any right to be.

"Kid, wait!" Aqualad yelled only to be ignored as Kid Flash continued running, disappearing from view a few moments later.

He only managed to run so far though, before he came to the end of the corridor and found himself running into an even larger hallway, one which currently had a herd of five metre tall, heavily muscled, gorilla like creatures, with mottled grey skin, red eyes, horns, spikes and tusk like teeth, thundering past.

The mere sight of them causing the sidekick to skid to a halt in the middle of the corridor, before he was forced to roll out of the way as the creatures kept moving, seemingly not even bothering to look at him as they continued their march. Though a much smaller, monkey like grey creature that was riding on top of one of the titanic beasts back seemingly did, not that it did anything more than give them a passing glance.

A few moments later Robin and Aqualad slowly walked up to where Kid was standing eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, all of them coming to a stop as they watched the mob of terrifying creatures walking by.

"No. Nothing odd going on here." Aqualad said sarcastically into the silence that had overcome the trio.

 **( - )**

 **(Many levels further down)**

Even further beneath Cadmus Labs than sublevel 26, a middle aged, bespectacled, partially grey haired, scientist was hard at work, moving with practiced ease around his lab as he mixed chemicals, and looked at genetic sequences on his computers. His shrewd gaze passing over a row of large glass tubes within which more, grey, red eyed horned creatures were being grown, his genomorphs, before he went back to what he was doing.

At present the scientist was mixing some liquids into a vial that had a blue crystal inside, a crystal which dissolved when he poured the concoction of different liquids into it, breaking down the crystal before it settled into a faintly glowing blue solution.

Giving the vial a little shake, the scientist smiled to himself a few moments later when he didn't see any particulates floating around in it.

Before he could do anything else though, he was interrupted when he heard a beep and the door to his laboratory opened to reveal Guardian, a somewhat well-known hero and a member of the Justice League standing in the doorway, clad in a blue coloured combat suit, with a golden helmet on his head and a similarly coloured shield on his arm. Though most noticeable was the small, monkey like genomorph he had perched on his shoulder, its eyes and horns glowing a faint red for a moment, before returning to normal.

"Dr. Desmond." Guardian said upon entering the lab.

"Tell me, Guardian. What part of no interruptions did you not understand?" The now named Desmond replied acerbically, even as he put the vial away in an electronic cabinet marked 'Blockbuster', where nearly a dozen other vials filled with identical liquid were already being refrigerated.

"A G-gnome on sub-level 26 reported four intruders." Guardian replied blandly, his gaze stoic and disinterested.

"Oh, did I miss a perimeter breach alert?" Desmond asked turning away from the cabinet now so that he could fully face Guardian.

"No." Guardian replied.

"Then the G-gnome's confused. Whatever might occur in our faux lab above ground, the real Cadmus is the most secure facility in D.C." Desmond replied decisively, already dismissing Guardian's concerns as frivolous and a distraction to his important work.

"And my job is to keep it that way." Guardian replied, his tone of voice gaining a bit more emotion now.

"Fine. Take a squad." Desmond said as another figure entered the room, only this one was clearly not human.

The new entrant was instead a skinny, grey skinned creature that wore a set of white surgeon's scrubs and white trousers. It also had burning red eyes, pointed ears and a pair of large horns that protruded from the side of its head. This was, Dubbilex, the highest ranking genomorph of Cadmus, and one of Desmond's most loyal and dangerous subordinates.

"Might I recommend that Guardian leave his G-gnome behind?" Dubbilex asked as he entered, not bothering to hide the fact that he had been listening in on the conversation. "If violence should occur…"

"The little guy would be in my way." Guardian said with a nod, before he looked to Desmond.

"No. The advantage of instant telepathic communication outweighs other concerns." Desmond said sharply, turning as he did to a similar looking genomorph that was perched on his desk, scratching it almost tenderly under the chin as he did so.

As Desmond did this though, the genomorph gnome's horns glowed red, with the G-gnome on Guardian's shoulder receiving the telepathic message moments later, its own horns glowing then red as well.

In response to his genomroph's actions Guardian stiffened for a moment, before his eyes gained a slightly empty look as he then proceeded to speak in a bland, emotionless voice.

"I need my G-gnome with me at all times." Guardian then said, before he turned and left without another word, heading off to fulfil Desmond's orders.

 **( - )**

 **(On sublevel 26)**

As this was going on, Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad that continued exploration of the floor they were on, with Robin currently using the device on his wrist to hack into yet another door, one which opened moments later.

Only for the contents to take all three of them by surprise.

"Ok, I'm officially whelmed." Robin said as they saw a room filled with glass cases, each of which held a different type of genomorph that was seemingly producing electricity. With the electricity all then being channelled and redirected into to a power station overhead, which then itself distributed it across the entire facility.

"I've seen some weird things… but, well nothing like this." Aqualad muttered as he walked into the room, and up to one of the glass cases, before he then placed a hand on the case and looked curiously at the creature within. "These things are putting out some impressive energy."

"So this is how they hid this massive underground facility from the world. The real Cadmus isn't on the grid. It generates its own power with these things. It must be what they're bred for." Kid Flash tagged on as he too looked around the room.

"Even the name is a clue. In Greek Mythology the Cadmus of myth created a new race by sowing Dragons' teeth into the Earth." Aqualad said quietly, his expression intense as he looked over at the other two.

"And this new Cadmus is creating new life too. So let's find out why." Robin said as he went to a nearby computer and once again used his wrist device to hack in. "They call them genomorphs and, whoa! Look at the stats on these things… super strength, telepathy, razor claws. These things are living weapons!"

"They're engineering an army, but for who?" Kid Flash asked to no one in particular, instantly coming to the same conclusion that the others had.

"Wait. There's something else. Project Kr. Ugh! The file's triple-encrypted. I can't…" Robin began as he tried to dig deeper into Project Cadmus's files.

Only to be interrupted by a loud voice from behind them.

"Don't move!" The voice interrupted, making them turn, only to see Guardian walk into the room with a group of genomorphs following after him.

"Wait. Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash?" Guardian asked, coming to a halt some dozen or so feet away.

"At least he got your name right." Robin tried to joke as he looked over at Kid.

"I know you. You are Guardian, you're a hero with the Justice League." Aqualad cut in, ignoring Robin's comment as he instead focused on the golden helmed Guardian.

"I do my best." Guardian commented with a slight smile and a shrug.

"Then what are you doing here?" Kid Flash pressed, a frown on his face.

"I'm chief of security here. And, well, you three are trespassing, but don't worry, we can call the Justice League and figure this out." Guardian replied, his expression turning sterner as he said this.

"Wait you're involved in this, and you think it's alright!" Kid Flash asked incredulously. "You think the League's going to approve of you breeding weapons?"

"Weapons? What are you… what have I… ugh…" Guardian muttered gripping his head in confusion, before his genomorph's horns glowed red and he regained his composure. Only now his entire demeanour had changed. "Take them down hard! No mercy!"

In response to that the genomorphs behind him charged forward on mass.

Seeing this Robin reacted immediately as he threw a smoke pellet onto the ground, creating a massive explosion of smoke, even as he then shot a grapple line out and swung to the door.

Kid Flash however dashed forwards, breaking off from the others as he dodged and ducked several claw swipes, before he then jumped off the wall and punched a genomorph sending it flying to the floor. After which he then ran, dodging this way and that as he legged it out of the tightly confined room and the living weapons that were in their trying to kill him.

Following Kid Flash's lead, Aqualad did the same, his water bearers in hand as he used them to create a pair of hammers out of water, which he then used to smash the genomorphs closest to him, sending two of them stumbling backwards into a larger group, before he too turned and ran, following after the other two.

A few minutes later found the three meeting up at the elevator door, with Robin having got there before the other two, with him already being in the process of trying to get it open. Ignoring how the alarms were going off even as he tried to hack in.

"Way to be a team player, Rob!" Kid Flash said as he met up with Robin, the sound of the pursing genomorphs sounding out loudly as they charged after the retreating sidekicks.

"Weren't you right behind me?" Robin said dismissively, even as he got the elevator open and then ran in with the other two following after him, neither one of them wanting to stay behind and confront the horde of creatures pursuing them.

"We're heading down?" Aqualad asked as he noted the direction the lift was now travelling.

"Dude! Out is up." Kid Flash added on helpfully.

"Excuse me? Project Kr, it's down on sublevel 52." Robin replied, as if he were surprised by their questions.

"This is out of control. Perhaps… perhaps we should contact the League." Aqualad said as the door pinged open and they arrived at sublevel 52, which was distinctly more alien and fleshy looking than the sterile, metallic sublevel 26.

Ignoring Aqualad, Robin ran ahead, with Kid Flash following closely behind. "Come on, Aqualad I'm not leaving until I get answers."

"Which way?" Kid Flash asked as the three of them made it two a fork in the corridor.

"Yeah, bizarre looking hallway one, or bizarre looking hallway two?" Robin asked cheerfully as he looked between the two.

"Halt!" A voice called out from behind them, even as Dubbilex walked out of one of the corridors and saw the heroes, his horns already glowing red as he raised a clawed hand and sent a half dozen nearby barrels flying through the air towards the sidekicks, driving them away with his telekinetic projectiles.

"The first one, now let's go!" Aqualad said, taking command as they dodged the barrels and Robin threw three 'birdarangs' at Dubbilex, only for them to be telekinetically stopped in mid-air as the creatures horns glowed red again.

Seeing this the heroes ran down the hall, with Robin throwing another smoke pellet behind them to confuse their opponents and cover their retreat.

As this was happening Guardian and the genomorphs arrived on the floor, all of them rushing out of the elevator only to see the stoic looking Dubbilex looking over at them.

"They are heading for Project Kr!" Dubbilex said pointing down the corridor they took, with Guardian nodding in reply, before he ran after them, his squad of genomorphs following after him.

A few minutes later found a female scientist walking out of Project Kr's laboratory, a clipboard in hand as the large electronic doors to the lab began to slide shut behind her. As she exited though, she was taken completely by surprise when Kid Flash ran past her in a yellow and red blur, sending her stumbling to the side in shock.

Not that Kid Flash seemed to notice as he instead saw the door to the lab closing, which prompted him to throw a barrel into the path of the closing doors to slow them down. With him then darting through the gap the barrel made as it kept the doors from closing, with Robin and Aqualad darting through after him, both of them ignoring the scientist's shouts for them to stop, as Aqualad instead kicked the barrel out of the doorway, purposefully causing the doors to close fully.

Noticing as the massive metal door locked behind them Robin once again used his wrist mounted device to hack into the building's systems, only this time he hacked into the door's controls.

"I disabled the door. We're safe." Robin said after a few moments, even as they heard the creatures banging on the doors from the other side.

"Which means we're trapped." Aqualad replied as he looked around at the room they were in.

"Uh, guys. You'll want to see this." Kid Flash spoke up in reply, gaining Robin and Aqualad's attention as they turned to see Kid turn on the main light in the room, which revealed just what Project Kr was.

It was a teenage looking version of Superman. A dark haired boy, with a large, broad-shouldered build, one who was wearing a white fully body suit with Superman's shield on it.

"Big K, little R. The atomic symbol for Krypton. A clone perhaps?" Kid Flash asked immediately as he looked over at the other two.

"Robin, see what you can find." Aqualad said as he looked to Robin, who in response nodded before he then hacked into the computer and pulled up the file on Project Kr.

"Weapon designation Superboy, a clone force grown in… sixteen weeks! From DNA acquired from Superman." Robin read out loud, before he looked over at the other two.

"Stolen from Superman." Aqualad corrected, his blue eyes narrowing in concern.

"No way the big guy knows about this." Kid Flash said quietly, as he mulled over just what this meant.

"Apparently the solar suit he is wearing allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation 24/7." Robin said, nodding at the white fully body suit the clone was wearing, answering the question none of them asked.

"And the creatures?" Aqualad asked as he eyed the three monkey like grey creatures that were perched above the unconscious Superboy as he was held motionless in a large glass tube.

"Genomorph gnomes, they're the telepathic ones, and are currently force-feeding him an education." Robin replied quickly.

"Not feeding him but controlling him. I saw the same thing on Guardians shoulder right before he attacked us, I saw the horns on it glow red. It was like he was being controlled. They're trying to make an army and they won't let anyone stop them. It looks like this is their trump card." Aqualad said grimly.

"They're making a slave out of… Superman's son." Kid Flash added in incredulously, looking around at the others.

"Now we contact the League." Aqualad said with finality, even as they all tried to send a message, only to find that they couldn't get a signal.

"No signal. We're in too deep, literally." Kid said. "What do we do?"

"We can't leave him like this." Robin replied, once again looking over at Superboy.

"Set him free. Then we'll get rid of the genomorphs and free him. Do it." Aqualad said to Robin, who after a momentary pause did just that.

Moments later the pod opened, even as the three sidekicks gathering around in front of it as they did so, not noticing as they did how Superboy's hands clenched into fists, even as the horns of the G-gnome's perched above him began to glow.

Then suddenly without warning the teen's blue eyes snapped open and his face twisted into an expression of anger, before without a word he lunged forward, lashing out and attacking his would be rescuers, not saying a word as he instead reacted on sheer animal instinct.

 **( - )**

 **(Outside of Cadmus Labs)**

Oblivious to the on goings below Cadmus Labs, a dark haired, green eyed man of around seventeen or eighteen strode into view, bypassing the firefighters and some recently arrived policemen and medics as they set up a cordon around the building, securing the site and keeping the growing crowd of nosey neighbours away, even as a small group of people in white lab coats or janitors uniforms were being treated by medics for burns and smoke inhalation.

"Hey you can't go in there!" One of the uniformed police officers called as he saw the dark haired young man approach.

The man in question standing at just under six feet tall, with tanned olive coloured skin, broad shoulders and a heavily muscled figure. His sea green eyes glowing and visibly standing out in the growing gloom as the skies above began to darken, as the sunset and night closed in, and messy black hair that was so black that it almost appeared a shade of blue, save of course for a single strip of grey he had running through it.

The most noticeable thing about him though was that he was wearing an engraved, and slightly battle scarred bronze cuirass that covered his chest, and the dark blue v neck shirt he was wearing underneath, over the top of which he then had on a tan coloured jacket, with golden coloured fur lining. Other than that the teen just had on a pair of ripped black jeans, and a pair of brown, steel toe capped, leather boots.

Ignoring the officer's statement, the teen instead forged on, bypassing the police cordon as he did so, his right hand absentmindedly settling on an odd sword that he had sheathed at his hip, one that looked to have a bone handle with a crossguard formed from sharp bony spines, and a pommel that consisted of a spike.

Of course this action alerted the police to the fact that this man was armed, even if it was just with a sword that was made out of bone...

"Right stop right there, I want you on your knees with your hands behind your head!" The police officer said loudly, the moment he saw the weapon, his gun already in hand as he pointed it at the dark haired youth. His actions gaining the attention of the other officers, even as they headed over drawing their own guns as they prepared to back up their comrades.

All around the area the watching citizens instantly started to panic, the sight of drawn guns getting them to back off, even as the others turned to flee. It didn't matter that the ones holding them were police officers, no, not when there were Metahumans around, those being humans who were born or who had developed superhuman abilities, it really didn't matter, as fights involving those people tended to cause collateral damage.

And currently more than a few people were getting a very dangerous vibe from this dark haired man, whether that was due to the wolf like stare he had, or the sheer presence he seemed to be give off was unknown. What was however, was that he could be trouble, especially if a police officer with a twitchy trigger finger lost his or her nerve.

"Sleep." The dark haired man, finally replied as he glanced over at them, his left hand raising before he clenched it into a fist.

Almost instantly the six police officers collapsed to the floor, their eyes rolling up into their heads as they slumped over, their guns dropping harmless to the ground as they themselves did.

This just caused the surrounding crowd to panic even more, or at least it did until the dark haired man walked past the downed officers, saying loudly and clearly as he did to a scared looking medic. "They're just unconscious nothing more than that, give them a few minutes and they will be up and about, fully recovered. When they do though, tell them not to be so quick to pull a gun, especially on someone who means no harm."

With that said the man then walked past the rest of the servicemen and women, barely even looking at them as he instead stamped his foot on the floor which caused a pillar of earth to erupt up from underneath him, lifting him up to the second floor, into which he disappeared moments later.

"Ermm what do we do?" One of the medics asked a nearby fireman.

"Well he said he meant no harm, so I guess check on the officers and then get back to work." The fireman shrugged, even as some of his fellows sought to calm the crowd, some of whom were now muttering about whether the dark haired man was a new hero, or a vigilante, even as a few minutes later, like the man said, the downed police officers started stirring.

Entering the Cadmus second floor, the dark haired teen walked through the burnt out wreckage, looking this way and that as he did so, before his sea green eyes flicked up and locked on a set of elevator door. His lips curving upwards into a smile as he saw they had been pried open by brute force.

Walking over to the elevator doors, the teen looked down into the gloom below, his expression still amused, before without a word of warning he leapt down, rapidly disappearing into the gloom below.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what do you all think? I hope you enjoyed it and leave a review. This story will of course be following the Young Justice story line, though there will be many changes as the story progresses as I do enjoy throwing canon out of the window and playing around with things. For which reason I may be including bits and pieces from the Justice League series, and the animated films, as I do enjoy DC animated stuff. Great stuff to chill out and procastinate to.**

 **Still as I said before I hope you all enjoy the story. For those interested I have not decided on any pairings yet as I want to see whether any come out organically in my writing. That being said I am open to suggestions, and like hearing other's opinions.**

 **In regards to abilties, Percy will have a fullset that comes with being a Son of Poseidon, though they will be much more developed than they were in the books. And will extend to all the domains he had connections to. On top of that I have an additional one I will be adding in, though the reasons for this will become apparent as I expand on my AU Percy's backstory.**

 **Also I am a bit iffy on the summary for this story, so if I could get some feedback that would be great, thanks.**

 **Thanks for reading, please leave a reivew.**

 **Catch you later.**

 **Greed720.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: So a pretty decent response to the last chapter, enough to inspire me to get another one out. Though it wasn't planned as I started off writing my PJ/RWBY story, but then wasn't feeling it, then I went to my My Hero Academia story, but again lost interest. Still I did manage to get at least one chapter done, so I hope you all enjoy it. That being said I only had two hours for this, so hopefully it's all good.**

 **For those that reviewed, I'm sorry I've not gotten back to many of you yet. But unfortunetly I've not had much time recently, I will endevour to reply to as many as I can, as and when I can.**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you all continue to review and read.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the DC Universe.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"_ _Well he said he meant no harm, so I guess check on the officers and then get back to work." The fireman shrugged, even as some of his fellows sought to calm the crowd, some of whom were now muttering about whether the dark haired man was a new hero, or a vigilante, even as a few minutes later, like the man said, the downed police officers started stirring._

 _Entering the Cadmus second floor, the dark haired teen walked through the burnt out wreckage, looking this way and that as he did so, before his sea green eyes flicked up and locked on a set of elevator door. His lips curving upwards into a smile as he saw they had been pried open by brute force._

 _Walking over to the elevator doors, the teen looked down into the gloom below, his expression still amused, before without a word of warning he leapt down, rapidly disappearing into the gloom below._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 2**

 **( - )**

 **(With Percy, in the past)**

 _"I will give you a slow death!" Akhlys, the Primordial Goddess of Misery and Poison screamed as she glared hatefully at Percy, her bleeding eyes locked on him and her gnarled pale hands flexing, the nails on them extending as she licked her lips, her black tongue trailing over her cracked, chapped lips. "A death from a thousand poisons!"_

 _As the goddess said this, all around her, poisonous plants began to grow from the barren ground of Tartarus before they then burst like overfilled balloons. Green and white sap trickling out of them, and collecting into pools of hissing, smoking, frothing liquid, liquid which began flowing across the ground towards Percy. The sweet smelling fumes making his head feel wobbly and his body weak and drained._

 _"Percy!" Annabeth's voice called out, sounding very far away, even as she attempted to distract the goddess of misery._

 _But to no avail as the goddess was now fixated on Percy._

 _Seeing this, he tried to retreat, his legs almost giving away beneath him as he stumbled backwards. Unfortunately though the poison ichor was flowing all around him now, making the ground steam and the air burn. Soon enough Percy found himself stuck on an island of dust not much bigger than a shield and getting smaller all the time as the toxic, corrosive, poisonous liquid continued to flow._

 _A few yards away, his backpack smoking and dissolving into a puddle of goo. Percy had nowhere to go._

 _Seeing this, he fell to one knee. He wanted to tell Annabeth to run, but he couldn't speak. His throat was as dry as dead leaves._

 _He wished there were water in Tartarus, some nice pool he could jump into to heal himself, or maybe a river he could control. He'd settle for a bottle of Evian, anything that he could use to defend himself._

 _"You will feed the eternal darkness," Akhlys hissed from where she stood, her terrible gaze fixed on him, glorying in his suffering. "You will die in the arms of Night!"_

 _He was dimly aware of Annabeth shouting in the background, still trying to distract the goddess, to pull her attention from Percy, and instead onto herself._

 _All the while the white-green poison kept pooling, little streams trickling from the plants as the venomous lake around him got wider and wider._

 _Lake, Percy suddenly thought, his murky mind muddling the word over. Streams. Water._

 _Probably it was just his brain getting fried from poison fumes, but he croaked out a laugh, a sharp bark, filled with pain and tinged with madness. Poison was liquid. If it moved like water, it must be partially water._

 _He remembered some science lecture about the human body being mostly water too. He remembered extracting water from Jason's lungs back in Rome … If he could control that, then why not other liquids? Would his control over water not extend to all things that contain water? He could create storms at will, and turn water from freezing to boiling with but a thought, therefore could he not do this too?_

 _It was a crazy idea. Poseidon was the god of the sea, not of every liquid everywhere._

 _Then again who said that had to be the case? Fire here in Tartarus was drinkable. The ground was the body of a dark god. The air was acid, and demigods could be turned into smoky corpses. Even up on the mortal plain, the only limits a person had, were the limits they put on themselves._

 _So why not try? He had nothing left to lose._

 _With that though in mind he glared at the poison flood encroaching from all sides. He concentrated so hard that something inside him cracked, as if a crystal ball had shattered in his stomach._

 _Warmth flowed through him, and the poison tide suddenly stopped._

 _The fumes blew away from him, and instead headed back towards the goddess. The lake of poison too began rolled towards her in tiny waves and rivulets._

 _"What is this?"Akhlys shrieked as she saw what was happening, her voice grating on his ears._

 _"Poison," Percy said, a vicious almost hungry smile on his face. "That's your speciality, right?"_

 _With that said he stood up, his anger growing hotter in his gut._

 _As he did this the flood of venom continued to roll towards the goddess, the fumes beginning to smother her, making her cough and stagger backwards, her eyes watered even more as she clawed at them, gouging fresh wounds into her face._

 _Oh, good, Percy thought almost gleefully, any sense of restraint he might have had gone as he allowed the madness of Tartarus to take him, and his monstrous side to take over. More water._

 _With that in mind Percy imagined her nose and throat filling with her own tears and blood._

 _In response Akhlys gagged. "I - !"_

 _She tried to say, only for the tide of venom to have reached her feet, sizzling like droplets on a hot iron and causing her to wail and stumble back._

 _"Percy!" Annabeth voice called out from a great distance._

 _Twisting his head, he saw that she'd retreated to the edge of the cliff, even though the poison wasn't after her. More than she sounded terrified, her entire body quaking, so much so that her Drakon bone sword had dropped from her hand and fallen onto the dry dusty ground. She was terrified, but he wasn't sure why, surely she could see he was defeating the goddess, he was killing the monster?_

 _"Stop …" Annabeth pleaded, her voice hoarse as she continued to back away, now on the very edge of the pit, her blue eyes wide, and terrified, and locked on Percy._

 _Percy twisted his head in confusion as he heard that, his muddled mind failing to make sense of what she was saying. Why should he stop? He didn't want to stop. He wanted to choke this goddess. He wanted to watch her drown in her own poison. He wanted to see just how much misery Misery could take._

 _With that though in mind, Percy's gaze shifted back to the goddess, even as she was consumed by her own poison, her power momentarily usurped._

 _Seeing this Percy gripped his blade Riptide tighter, his sea green eyes gleaming in the darkness of the pit as he walked towards the goddess, ignoring all else, but his former tormentor. The traitorous goddess who had manipulated and betrayed them, a primordial goddess who was merely a shadow of what she must once have been._

 **( - )**

 **(In the present, at Cadmus Labs)**

With the three sidekicks, Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash all now incapacitated and in cloning pods, and their intrusion dealt with. Desmond was now in his office, waiting around impatiently for his meeting with his benefactors, the Light, the secret group that was funding Project Cadmus, to begin.

Tapping his foot impatiently, Desmond eyed the seven blank screens irritably, he had only just notified them that he needed to talk, but still he was never the most patient of people. Thankfully though, the room soon went dark, even as each of the seven screens lit up with light, showing Desmond a silhouette of the people he was talking to, even if their faces were distorted by white light, making any form of physical identification impossible.

Not that he cared who they were, as long as the money for his experiments kept coming he was content. Though he could do without the micromanagement and all of the pointless theatrics his employers used when they communicated with him. Still beggars can't be choosers.

"Dr. Desmond. You require an audience with the light?" One of the figures in the screens asked, their voice distorted just like their appearance was.

"Yes. Very sorry to disturb you at this late hour…" Desmond replied unctuously.

"Just give us your report." Another one of the members of the Light demanded impatiently.

"Of course. Well, we had a small fire here at Project Cadmus earlier today. The origin of the incident is still as of yet unknown, but it seems to have attracted some… unwanted attention. Three sidekicks; Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad breached security. They found and released Project Kr, Superboy. Of course, the clone is under our telepathic control as ordered, and as such turned against his would be liberators. Currently I have the three contained in cloning pods, and as far as I know, I don't think the League knows they're here. So, uh, what should I do?" Desmond finished somewhat lamely, not really sure on what to do next, after all he was a scientist and an academic, this kind of thing wasn't his forte.

"Clone them." Another one of the voices said bluntly.

"The Substitutes will serve the light, and only the light." The leader of the Light added on simply.

"And the originals?" Desmond asked nervously.

"Dispose of them." The leader continued uncaringly. "Leave no trace behind."

 **( - )**

 **(Elsewhere in Project Cadmus)**

As this conversation was happening, so to were the three sidekicks coming around, only to find that each of them was strapped down and contained within a pod, similar to the one that had once contained Superboy. And speaking of said Superman clone, he was currently standing in front of them too, a scowl on his face as he eyed the trio suspiciously.

"What! What do you want?! Quit staring, you're creeping me out!" Kid Flash spoke up after a few moments of pointless struggle, as he saw Superboy staring at him.

"Ah, KF, how about we not tick off the guy who could fry us with a look." Robin replied nervously, even as he futilely struggled with the cuffs holding him in place for a moment, before seemingly allowing himself to hang limp. An act that disguised the fact that he was still trying to break out, using the skills his mentor Batman had drilled into him over the years.

"We only sought to help you." Aqualad spoke up next, his expression stoic and his tone calm as he locked gazes with Superman's clone.

"Yeah, we free you and you turn on us. How's that for gratit…" Kid Flash began, only to be cut off before he could finish.

"Kid, enough." Aqualad said calmly, his gaze still locked on Superboy. "Ignore him. I don't think it was Superboy's fault. I don't think he is in control of his actions.

"What… What if I… What if I wasn't?" Superboy asked a few moments later, his gaze solely on Aqualad.

"He can talk?" Kid suddenly said loudly in surprise, even as Superboy clenched his hands into fists and glared at the redheaded teen.

"Yes, _he_ can." Superboy replied sharply, his blue eyes boring holes into Kid Flash.

"Not like I said it." Kid Flash muttered as he saw the other two give him level looks as well.

"Kid, enough." Aqualad spoke up again, once again being the voice of reason, his gaze still on Superboy as he tried to make some kind of connection with the clone. "You weren't in control of your actions, the genomorphs were. They were controlling you. I am guessing they taught you things whilst you were in the pod, right?"

"Yes, they taught me much. I can read, write, I know the names of things." Superboy muttered slowly.

"But have you seen them? Have they ever actually let you see these things, things like sky, or the sun?" Robin asked, pausing in his activities to look over at the clone too.

"Images have been implanted in my mind… but no. I have not seen them." Superboy replied slowly.

"Do you know what you are? Or who you are?" Aqualad asked trying to keep the conversation flowing.

"I am the Superboy. A genomorph. A clone made from the DNA of the Superman. Created to replace him should he perish, to destroy him should he turn from the light." Superboy said almost mechanically surprising all three of the sidekicks as they just stared at him in surprise, before Aqualad broke the silence.

"To be like Superman is a worthy aspiration, but like Superman, you deserve a life of your own, beyond that solar suit, beyond your pod, beyond Cadmus." Aqualad said earnestly.

"I live because of Cadmus. It is my home." Superboy replied bluntly, his face contorting into a scowl now.

"Your home is a test tube. We can show you the sun." Robin said loudly, once again going back to work trying to break himself out. "You have a right to a life of your own. You may be a clone but that doesn't mean you have to be the original. You can be your own person. And we can help you. Introduce you to the outside world, give you a home, introduce you to Superman too if you want."

Superboy looked up at that, a glint of something different in his eyes, an emotion that hadn't been there before. Of course it soon disappeared when a new voice intruded into the conversation.

"No, they can't." Desmond said as he, Guardian and some genomorphs entered the room. "They'll be otherwise occupied. Activate the cloning process."

 **( - )**

 **(Elsewhere in Project Cadmus)**

Walking through the odd, fleshy corridors, Percy kept a tight grip on his Drakon bone sword, his sea green eyes flitting back and forth as he eyed the surrounding area. This place looked odd even to him, and he had seen some crazy shit in his life.

Still wasn't that the reason he was here, to investigate?

Continuing on down the corridor, Percy drew a couple of inches of his blades, loosening it in its Drakon hide sheath, enough that he could draw it quickly if need be.

Not missing a step Percy then spread his senses out again, using the moisture in the air as he did so, sensing for vibrations and the people causing them.

Finding several dozen large beings moving nearby, Percy headed in that direction, these figures were all grouped together, though he could also sense some of them heading towards him, a group of five.

Drawing his blade, Percy headed to intercept, he was no detective, but he was damn good at interrogation. It was how he found this place after all, all he needed to do was intimidate a few low level thugs, ones that smuggled certain things to Cadmus Labs, things that were definitely not legal, hence the smuggling.

The facility beneath Cadmus might have been built to be secure, but that would only stay the case if it went undetected. That being said Percy had had no idea that all of this was under the labs, he'd only been alerted to the fact that they had been up to no good, and since he was trying to become one of those Hero types that fought crime he decided to have a look into what was going on.

He'd only been at it for a few months, this whole Hero gig, and this was his first big lead, his first big case. Sure he had knocked around a few thieves, crippled a couple of murderers and stopped a load of convicts escaping an overturned prison van.

Those had all been cool and such, but they were still pretty small time. This Cadmus thing though, at first he had thought it was a drug lab. Or at least that was until he researched some of the stuff the thugs were smuggling into the lab on the internet, and found that some of the substances were linked to highly controlled genetic modification research in government funded laboratories, whilst other bits and pieces had a possible extra-terrestrial origin.

Yep alien. Something, which considering some of the Villains and Heroes parading around this weird, yet wonderful world he found himself in, was more than possible. Plus how could it be any weirder than the Divine shit he had to deal with back when he had been on his own world, back before he had leapt into Tartarus.

Pausing for a moment as he saw the shadows of the oncoming creatures on the wall of the corridor, Percy immediately noticed that they weren't human, after all humans didn't have body shapes like that, nor did they have horns and claws. Though as he looked he did see one shadow that looked human.

Stepping around the corner, Percy was in motion immediately as he confronted the other group, his sword in hand as he rushed them. Four of the creatures in question doing the same thing to him, their red eyes glowing and their claws extended to slash at him, even as they rushed him, moving far faster than a normal human being.

Unfortunately for them Percy was not a normal human being, which is why with a single upward swing he sliced the first of the monsters in two with a spray of dark red blood, his Drakon bone blade cutting through it like paper. The next one found Percy's blade hacking into the juncture between its neck and shoulder, felling it in an instant.

The two after that though adapted as they broke off from a straight charge and came at him from either side in a pincer. It was a smart tactic, but not smart enough as Percy twisted, his blade coming up to spear one through its horned skull, whilst his hand faced the other, the palm open up as if to give him a high five. Only for Percy to instead create an earthquake in mid-air. Which caused a shock wave to erupt from his palm, only to slam into the creature and send it hurtling into a nearby wall, its skull cracking on impact.

Before Percy could celebrate this small victory though, he was quickly distracted by a sudden roar from in front of him. Only for him to see a teenaged kid with dark black hair, a bulky physique and blue eyes, and wearing a white full body suit, with an oddly familiar looking symbol on his chest, charging him.

Seeing this Percy reacted immediately, taking a step back to avoid an obvious right hook, even as his sword whipped out, and slashed the boy across the chest, killing the odd grey creature on his shoulder as he did so. His Drakon bone blade also cutting through the teen's white suit like paper, but only scratching the skin below, leaving a faint line which oozed only a couple of droplets of blood.

"The fuck." Percy grunted as he stepped back, avoiding another obvious right hook, as he instead landed a boot in the boy's chest, knocking him back a half step, but doing nothing more than that. Just like with his sword strike it seemed, which was supposed to cut at least a half inch deep, a painful blow, but not a fatal one, his kick also didn't cause as much damage as he thought it would. "Shit you're one of those Metahumans I've heard about, aren't you?"

The boy, in response to that merely put a hand to his chest feeling the slight twinge of pain he had there, before he pulled it back, a look of confusion on his face as he saw the slight smear of crimson staining his hand.

"Yeah I'm going to need you to sleep!" Percy said tightly, raising his hand as he did so, even as he tried to starve the boy's brain of oxygen, draining the brain of blood, enough that it knocked him out at least, but not enough so that it caused permanent damage. Just like what he had done with the policemen outside.

In response however the boy just clutched his head in confusion, before he suddenly roared and bull rushed Percy, his speed on a par with Percy's own as he was on the Demigod in moments.

Seeing this Percy whipped his sword out again, landing a slash on his opponent's forearm as he raised it to block the strike, the blade once again drawing blood, but only cutting a centimetre or so into the boy's flesh as oppose to cleaving through it like it should.

"By the gods!" Percy cursed as the boy closed in on him, getting too close for Percy to easily use his sword.

Whipping out his left hand instead, Percy landed a punch on the boy's jaw, knocking his head to one side. A strong enough blow that it made him falter, or at least falter long enough for Percy to slam his right fist into the boy's guy, the spiked hilt of his sword piercing the flesh, though only enough to penetrate a half inch or so into his gut.

"What are you made of!?" Percy grunted as he back stepped, sheathing his sword as he weaved between the boy's punches. Glad as he did that his training in hand to hand combat, like boxing and wrestling back at Camp Half Blood was finally coming in use.

"Stop moving!" The dark haired boy roared as he rushed Percy again, only for the green eyed teen to block his right hook with his left arm and land a solid jab into Superboy's face, which he then followed up with two more jabs, before there was then a right hook, a left hook, and then a cheeky elbow to the jaw to finish him off.

Back stepping, Superboy twisted his head to one side before he looked back at Percy, none the worse for wear despite having taken several powerful blows to the head, blows that would break a normal person's bones.

"Ok so you're stronger than me, that's a surprise." Percy muttered as he back stepped, moving around Superboy and heading the way that the boy had just come, his opponent turning to face him as he did so, a snarl of anger very prominent on his face.

"Die!" The dark haired boy roared before he slammed into Percy, landing a blow that sent Percy flying back some twenty feet, where he then smashed into an oncoming crowd of more of the horned, grey creatures.

"I'd rather not." Percy replied glibly, making it to his feet in an instant as he did so, before he lashed out, smashing his fist straight through one of the creature's sternums, even as he felt one of the grey creatures land on his back, its razor sharp claws tearing at Percy's coat. Not that it did any damage, after all a coat made from the fur of the Nemean Lion, and so was all but indestructible.

Ripping his hand out of the creature's chest, Percy ripped the creature's dark red blood out of it as he did so, even as he manipulated it into a solid scythe like blade. A blade which he proceeded to use to cut down four of the creatures in an instant, before he then seized even more blood from the fallen creatures. Manipulating it as he did, to cause frozen spikes of blood to erupt out of the bodies around him, killing eight more, after which he did it again from the now twelve dead bodies, which then finished off the rest, which led to Percy creating a forest of razor sharp, crimson spikes of ice around himself.

"Stop running!" Superboy roared from in front of Percy, even as he bulled through the crimson ice, shattering it with ease, his face filled with fury as he went to tackle Percy.

"Only if you stop chasing me!" Percy growled as he crouched low, allowing the super strong, durable and angry teen to leapt over him, only for Percy to then stand, his waist and shoulder shifting as he unleashed a full force punch into the boy's guy, unleashing an the equivalent of an earthquake from his fist as he did so.

A move than leant his punch power as it sent the boy exploding backwards, through the rest of the forest of icy spikes and into a metal door behind where the two were fighting, the force of the blow sending the boy smashing straight through it and into the room beyond.

"By Aphrodite's saggy tits!" Percy shouted in pain as he clasped his hand, not bothering to look at the results of the punch, as he instead focused on his mangled hand, one which looked like it had just had all of the bones in it shattered in an instant. Which was unsurprising, because that is literally what had just happened.

"Dammit that hurts!" Percy growled to no one in particular, before he used his other hand to separate the water from the frozen blood around him, swathing his hand in the life giving liquid as he did so, letting it begin the healing process, even as he covered the rest of his body in a thin veil of water too.

"I really want to kick he shit out of that kid now." Percy growled to himself before he headed for the room he had sent his opponent flying, frowning slightly as he heard more voices coming from inside, three of which sounded like they belonged to people around Percy's own age, or younger.

 **( - )**

 **(A few minutes earlier)**

Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin were all writhing in pain as electricity wracked their bodies, even as the pods they were in began to harvest their DNA, extracting it so that clones could be created of each of them.

Despite this though the three of them still tried to escape, Robin kept on with trying to pick the lock of his shackles, even as the electricity caused his muscles to spasm. Likewise Kid Flash made his own attempt as he vibrated his molecules to the point at which they would allow him to pass through solid objects, just like his mentor the Flash was capable of, only for him to not succeed as his abilities were not on the same level as the Flash's were.

Aqualad meanwhile was able to tolerate the electricity far better than the other two, but he didn't try to escape, after all he was already aware of how futile it would be. No, instead he attempted to appeal to the Superboy clone, hoping as he did that the boy had super hearing and was listening.

It was as this was going on however that Desmond and Guardian both heard a disturbance outside, a sound of fighting and loud cursing, which was then followed by a sudden explosion of force that shook the room they were in, with this soon being followed up by the body of Superboy slamming through the metal doors, breaking them open as he did so, before he then hurtled across the room.

"Superboy! I told you to get to…!" Desmond began with a snarl only to blink in confusion when he saw that the clone was bleeding from the chest, stomach and arm, even as he dazedly got back to his feet. "What happened to you?"

"Shut up!" Superboy snarled, even as he glared at the entrance, from out of which a dark haired man stepped, a scowl on his own face, even as the air around his body seemed to waver.

"Well this doesn't look creepy." Percy said bluntly, his arrival catching the attention of the three sidekicks, Desmond and Guardian.

"Who are you?!" Desmond snapped, before he looked to Guardian and Superboy. "You two, kill him!"

"Don't give me orders." Superboy snarled at Desmond, his emotions still unstable, even as he leapt towards the man, with Guardian, who after a moments of deliberation, followed after him. Both of them closing in on Percy hoping to take him out.

"Oh great, again." Percy grumbled, his gaze taking in the three struggling teens as he did so, before he clenched his uninjured hand into a fist and thrust it forward, sending three frozen spikes of ice tearing through the air, before they struck the pods, shattering the glass of all three pods, before they then melt and short-circuited the machines.

"Ok what just happened?!" Kid Flash said as he looked over at the other two.

"I believe help has arrived." Aqualad replied, before he began to try and free himself.

"Don't complain KF, be glad the cavalries here." Robin said as he freed himself, before he went to help the others, pushing away his own curiousity for the moment as he did so. "Man! Lucky Batman wasn't here. He'd have my head for taking so long to free myself."

"Seriously? That's what you're worried about. The entire League will have our heads after tonight!" Kid Flash replied even as Robin freed him, and then Aqualad. "And, by the way, do either of you recognise that guy?"

As he said that Kid Flash nodded to where their rescuer was fighting with Superboy, Guardian already lying unconscious on the ground a spike of ice through his shoulder and his helmet cracked.

"No, but he does seem to be on our side." Aqualad replied as he rubbed his sore wrists, eyeing the ongoing fight as he did so. Noting how the green eyed boy was faster than Superboy at the moment and clearly more skilled, but noticeably not stronger as he avoid getting into a grappling match with the Superman clone. On top of that he also noticed how the green eyed teen was favouring his left hand, and was now very much on the defensive.

"Good, now let's go help!" Kid Flash said, before he made to rush Superboy and get some vengeance for their beat down earlier.

"Wait!" Aqualad said, before he turned to the two that were fighting. "Stop fighting, both of you!"

In response to which, they both ignored him.

"Superboy stop, he is on our side!" Aqualad tried again, assuming as he did so that Percy was in fact on their side. "He is helping us, like Superman would."

That got a response as Superboy paused in his assault, allowing his opponent to back up a bit more, his eyes narrowed.

"What?" Superboy asked, turning to Aqualad, as he did so.

"You want to be a hero like Superman don't you?" Aqualad pressed, as he saw his words were having an effect. "Well if you want to be like him, then help us! You must know what they are doing here is wrong! Help us and we'll get you out of here, we'll make it so you can live your own life. We'll even introduce you to Superman!"

Superboy wavered at that, before he grit his teeth, after which he then gave a slight nod to Aqualad, only for him to then glare at Percy.

"Ok, I'm a little confused, can someone clue me in on what's happening here?" Percy spoke up after a moment, locking gaze with the now named Superboy, watching him for any sudden moves. After all the two were fighting moments ago, and still probably would have been had the other teen not back off.

"The full story can wait, for now we need to get out of here!" Robin spoke up quickly, eyeing the newcomer up and down, noting the bronze armour cuirass he was wearing and the, what looked like bone, handled blade he had sheathed at his side. Noting as he did so, that although he was certainly not any Hero or protégé he had ever seen before, that he did at least seem to be on their side. Which was the important thing for now.

"Right…" Percy replied dryly, looking around at all the younger looking teen curiously, not recognising any of them, even if he did recognise the lightning bolt symbol on the boy in yellow's chest, not that this was the Flash, though he could possibly be an apprentice of some sort.

The next was the caped and masked boy, who looked to be around twelve or thirteen, but seemed competent and confident enough.

The final one, apart from his former opponent, was a dark skinned teen of around seventeen, so about a year or so younger than Percy, with strangely enough what looked like gills on the side of his neck.

"Look, we don't have time for this. We need to get out of here and contact the league." Robin continued, looking between the group, including at the dark haired newcomer and Superboy, both of whom were still glaring suspiciously at one another.

Narrowing his eyes slightly as he saw this, Robin's gaze trailed down to the blood which stained Superboy's chest and arm, both of which bore wounds that looked to have been caused by a blade.

"Fine." Percy said after a moment, not taking his eyes off of this Superboy, not after the bust-up they had both just had. "By the way I wouldn't worry too much about those creature things, they're not that difficult to defeat."

Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin eyed Percy curiously at that, but said nothing more about it. As Aqualad instead looked down at the unconscious Guardian and then over to Superboy, the strongest one here, he presumed. "Hey Superboy, can you carry Guardian out of here? We can't just leave him here."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Superboy growled in response, still obviously a little leery about this whole alliance thing. After all, although he wanted to be like his originator Superman, he was still a bit cautious about helping these sidekicks, and that bastard he had just had a fight with.

Despite that though, he still bent down and lifted the injured and unconscious Guardian up, and carried him on his back as the group left the room. With Robin pausing long enough to throw a few explosive disks back at the cloning tubes, destroying the machine, and any DNA samples they might have collected. It was just a pity that that Desmond guy had escaped during all of the chaos.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what do you all think? It's still in the early stages but I am hoping you all enjoy it. That being said it is pretty fun to write, especially developing Percy's powerset, and am looking forward to getting into the Young Justice series. As I used to love the show when I was younger, hell I still like it now. : )**

 **Again no pairings have been decided, and I only have a brief outline for how I want the story to go.**

 **But yeah, other than that I hope you all enjoyed the story, and review. I do love to hear from people. Though I was surprised to get my first ever flames the other day, which somewhat took me by surprise.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Greed720.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey all, there was a great response to the last chapter, and so I am back with an update. I was originally supposed to be updating my PJ/ RWBY story but got stuck at the halfway mark as I have written myself into a corner, hence why I decided to bang this out instead.**

 **Hope you all enjoy and leave a review.**

 **Warning there is a longer than usual AN at the bottom, I kind of went on a ramble.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the DC verse.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin eyed Percy curiously at that, but said nothing more about it. As Aqualad instead looked down at the unconscious Guardian and then over to Superboy, the strongest one here, he presumed. "Hey Superboy, can you carry Guardian out of here? We can't just leave him here."_

 _"_ _Don't tell me what to do!" Superboy growled in response, still obviously a little leery about this whole alliance thing. After all, although he wanted to be like his originator Superman, he was still a bit cautious about helping these sidekicks, and that bastard he had just had a fight with._

 _Despite that though, he still bent down and lifted the injured and unconscious Guardian up, and carried him on his back as the group left the room. With Robin pausing long enough to throw a few explosive disks back at the cloning tubes, destroying the machine, and any DNA samples they might have collected. It was just a pity that that Desmond guy had escaped during all of the chaos._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 3**

 **( - )**

 **(In the depths of Project Cadmus)**

Running back through the sublevels of Project Cadmus, the group made a particularly odd site as the three costumed sidekicks ran at the front of the pack, leading the way back to the elevator shaft, and freedom. With the Superman clone, amusingly named Superboy, running closely after them, the unconscious form of Guardian slung unceremoniously over his shoulder, as he used his super strength to half drag, half carry, the unconscious, brainwashed Hero after them.

After which Percy brought up the rear, his Drakon bone sword in hand as he padded along after the rest of the group, allowing them to direct him, as they likely knew just as much about the layout of the floor as he himself did. With Percy instead busying himself by fending off the many genomorphs that were swarming around them. The creatures having all been alerted to their presence by the alarms, and then sent to pursue them, no doubt by the escaped scientist, Dr Desmond.

Thus far the group had managed to keep ahead of the swarm of genomorphs though, all of them moving rapidly through the fleshy corridors, even as more and more of the horned, grey skinned creatures erupted from glowing, red bubo like tumours on the sides of the wall. Forcing the group of five to defend themselves, as Robin pulled out an extendable staff, smacking and thwacking away at any grey creature that came near. Whilst Aqualad used his water bearers to create hammers out of water, even as he smashed anything that got in his way, out of his way. Kid Flash meanwhile rushed ahead, a red and yellow blur as he punched and kicked any of the creatures that got near him.

"Here hold this." Superboy suddenly grunted, as he thrust Guardian's heavy body over to Percy, making the Demigod grunt at the sudden weight, even as he had to angle his sword away so it didn't accidentally impale the unconscious, brainwashed Hero.

"Hey!" Percy shouted in irritation, even as he saw the clone turn and leap at a group of giant, gorilla like genomorphs that got in their way. The sudden impact of his charge causing them to pause long enough for Superboy to smack two of them and send them crashing into the side of the corridor, before he was hit by the third.

"Superboy we are trying to escape, not bring the building down on us." Aqualad shouted as he turned and saw what the clone was up to.

"You want escape!" The clone shouted back before he threw the last behemoth into the other two that were just starting to get up, after which the clone began to run towards them.

"Duh dumbass, that's the whole point." Percy grunted, before he threw Guardian back at Superboy, making him blink in confusion as he caught him, only for Percy to leg it to the elevator. "Back to you."

"Oi!" Superboy shouted only for Percy to ignore him, as he instead swung out with his sword, cutting down three of the humanoid genomoprhs, before he ripped the blood from one of the bodies, forging it into a bloody spear of ice as he did so, after which he then hurled it at one of the behemoth like creatures that were lumbering after them.

The spear stabbing through one of the genomorph's red eyes and causing to lurch backwards, thrashing as it did so, even as it crashed into some of its fellows in a chaotic mess of thrashing, spasming limbs.

"Now come on." Percy barked over his shoulder at Superboy, not waiting for a response, as he instead just turned and ran around the corner to where Kid Flash and Aqualad were forcing open the doors to the elevator shaft.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Superboy shouted after him, not that that stopped him from following, as he dragged Guardian after him.

"He's like a bloody broken record that one." Percy grumbled, wiping the creature's dark red blood off of his sword, not missing as he did so the wide eyed look of disgust on the Robin's face, or the discomfort that showed in both Aqualad and Kid Flash's expression. No doubt they would whine at him about unnecessary force later, but for now there were other things to worry about. "Now come on, let's get out of here."

With that said Percy sheathed his sword and then jumped through the now open elevator doors, after which he landed on the other side, his hands digging into the metal with a hissing sound, the metal warping under them, even as he began pulling himself up, leaving steaming handholds behind him as he did so.

Seeing this Robin grabbed the Kid Flash and then used a grappling gun to follow as he shot up into the shaft, rapidly passing Percy by as he continued to climb, using both his enhanced strength and a particularly corrosive poison/ acid he was exuding from the pores of his hands to warp the metal enough to climb.

Something which Aqualad took advantage of, even if he wasn't sure how his temporary teammate accomplished the feat, as the dark skinned teen cloaked his hands in water, the tattoos on his arms glowing blue, before he then used the still smoking handholds Percy had created, the two of them quickly ascending up the elevator shaft.

Seeing his fellows already moving up, Superboy grabbed Guardian, before he too leapt through the elevator doors and flew upwards, or rather he tried too, because as Percy and the others ascended, they heard him let out a loud shout as gravity took hold and he began to fall.

Not that he fell too far, because as he reached the peak of his jump, just a little below Percy and Aqualad, Robin then shot out another grabble hook, catching the duo before they could fall too far.

"Superman can fly; why can't I fly?" Superboy asked dejectedly into the slight silence that followed.

"Don't know, but it looks like you can leap over giant building with a single bound, still pretty cool." Kid Flash praised, trying to be comforting, with Superboy ignoring him as he instead quietly thanked Robin for the save.

Before anymore could be said though, the group in the elevator shaft, suddenly heard an ominous sound above, a rushing sound of metal on metal. The source of which rapidly became apparent as they looked up to see that the elevator was heading right towards them.

"We need to get out of here, now!" Aqualad shouted, even as Percy pushed off from the side of shaft, scrabbling slightly as he found purchase on the ledge opposite him, before he pulled himself up and then forced open the door to the nearest floor level open.

"That's a good shout, now come on." Percy grunted as he did this, gesturing as he did so for the rest of the group to follow him. Not that he needed to, as by that point they were all in the midst of doing that, piling in on him and nearly knocking him onto his arse as they all quickly jumped through the open door and just narrowly avoided getting squashed by the speeding elevator.

Of course they weren't given long to recover from this, before once again a group of genomorphs spotted them and quickly gave chase. Forcing the group to get up and rapidly head off, Percy and Superboy taking the lead this time, whilst the other three covered their backs.

"Turn left, left!" Superboy shouted suddenly as they ran, with them instinctively following his lead. "Now right." He said once again only to lead them to a seemingly dead-end.

"Great directions Supey, are you trying to get us re-podded?" Kid Flash yelled out nervously as he saw their predicament they were now in, the sounds of their pursuers sounding out loudly behind them, which just made Superboy lower his head in confusion

"It's a dead end, we'll need to fight our way out." Percy spoke up next, already drawing his sword as he shifted his legs into a ready positon, preparing to lunge forward and into the fray at any moment.

"No stop, we don't need to fight, this is exactly what we needed. Everyone, get into the ventilation shaft." Robin interrupted, his eyes flicking over to Percy as he lowered his sword, even as he then pulled off the ventilation shaft cover overhead.

"Spoilsport." Percy grumbled, sheathing his sword again, before he moved back to help his fellows up and into the ventilation shaft.

"Wait, Guardian is too big to fit!" Aqualad suddenly interrupted as he, Superboy, Kid Flash and Robin got into the overhead ventilation system, only for them to then realise that the bulkily built Guardian was too wide to get through the narrow vent.

"You lot go, I'll take Guardian and find another way." Percy decided, grabbing Guardian as he did so, before he slung him over his shoulder and drew his sword.

"We can't just leave you behind." Aqualad said, shaking his head as he made to get down.

"Well you're going to have to." Percy said with a shake of his head, "Now go, I'll need as much time as I can get, to get away."

"Aqualad, come on we can't let him do it alone." Kid Flash said, shaking his head as he did so, before he struggled to get passed the dark-skinned Atlantean.

"You're wasting time." Percy replied quickly, shifting Guardian's body around on his shoulder as he did so, freeing his left hand so that he could raise it, and also so he could make the pipes above, those attached to the sprinklers, explode. Covering the area in water as he did, before with a slight amount of exertion and a wave of his free hand he froze the walls and roof around him solid, blocking the young heroes from getting out.

This didn't stop them from seeing him though, as he instead raised two fingers, and then gestured for them to 'fuck off', before he ran off himself.

"What just happened?" Robin demanded of the two behind him.

"I don't know, but Percy has taken Guardian and run, and has frozen the airshaft shut." Aqualad replied, musing as he did on just what Percy's abilities actually were, after all he could apparently control water, ice and acid.

"Damn, well we can't wait around." Robin grunted, looking at his wrist computer as he did so, even as he internally cursed losing track of the wild card in the group, Percy. "The guy seems tough enough, I'm sure he'll meet us up there."

"Robin is right, we should take advantage of the distraction Percy has made and get out of here. Once we do so we can contact the League for help and then go and save him. We can't let his sacrifice be in vein." Aqualad spoke up again, looking at the others as he did so, before he gestured for them to start moving.

 **( - )**

 **(A little while later, with Percy)**

"Dammit, this was a mistake." Percy grumbled to himself as he dragged Guardian through the much more normal, and clinical looking corridors of the upper levels, the water pipes overhead exploding as he did so, continually showering both himself, and everything else in water as he ran for the staircase.

Keeping his sword sheathed and his grip on the large, helmeted man tight, Percy had to rely on his hydrokinetic abilities as he sent blasts of water out at any genomorph that got close to him. His whips and blades of water, cutting through their flesh as he used just a single hand to mould, solidify and manipulate the falling water.

A few years ago, when he first started out as a Demigod on his first couple of quests, such a level of control would be beyond him, back then he relied on just throwing out the occasional wave when he could and then either legging it, or using his trusty sword, Riptide. Now though, after training his abilities, and honing them in his many battles, against a whole assortment of Titans, monsters, Demigods, gods and giants, and his journey through Tartarus, such a level of control was almost simple.

More than that though, he had also begun to expand on his skillset, pushing himself beyond the limits as he sought to not only master his abilities relating to his father's domain over the sea, but also his domains of earthquakes and storms. With his confrontation with Ahklys in the depths of Tartarus having opened his eyes to his own potential, as he pushed past the limits he had created for himself.

It had gotten to the point at which he could not only release seismic waves through either the ground or the air, but could also absorb and focus that power, which in turn allowed him to manipulate vibrational waves from his hands and feet.

On top of that with his water he could not only draw it from the air or living things around him like trees and plants, negating the need for a large water source, but he could also freeze it at will, or make it boiling hot. He could even turn it into steam and manipulate that, or change the water's PH balance, which he had found out when he explored his Toxikinesis ability, the one he had discovered courtesy of the old misery guts herself, Ahklys.

But he had in fact gone beyond that, as he discovered he could also manipulate the water in a person body. He could contract the blood vessels in someone's brain causing a debilitating headache, he could starve the brain of blood causing temporary unconsciousness, he could even restrict someone's muscles, paralysing them for as long as he maintained control. Then again he was still learning new things in regards to this ability, as he had found the Superman clone's blood all but impossible to control, though whether this was due to his physiology, his raw strength, or other factors, Percy wasn't sure. After all thus far he had only used it on normal, mundane mortals, he hadn't tried it on anything supernatural, or alien.

In fact the only domain Percy hadn't had time to experiment much with was storms, that being said, through that domain he had found himself capable of very limited Aerokinesis and Electrokinesis. Abilities similar to the ones his frenemy Jason had possessed, even if they were much, much weaker that the son of Jupiter's. Still he had them, he just needed the time to test them out, and to experiment with what exactly he could do with them.

Shaking off these thoughts, Percy continued through the flooded corridors, noticing as he did so that the place was noticeably empty of both genomorphs and people. The sight of which made Percy ponder whether he was even being pursued anymore? Or whether they were chasing after the Superboy clone to the exclusion of all else.

Not that he was about to complain, not when he made it to the staircase and began ascending, thus far avoiding pursuit. Though from what he could hear further up the staircase and the shouts and shrieks that echoed downwards towards him, his companions were not as lucky.

"Come on then Guardian." Percy grumbled, pulling the large man after him and wishing as he did so that he had super strength, as his arms were beginning to ache. After all he might be stronger than most mortals, strong enough to carry a full grown man, but he was no Hercules, as unfortunately not all Demigods were born equal. Just look at his friend Frank's abilities. Still the abilities he did have were nothing to turn his nose up at. "I really shouldn't have hit you as hard as I did, I mean if I knew I would be carrying you I would have just give you a tap. Then again you were kind of the bad guy so…."

Despite that though he couldn't help but grumble about it as he carried Guardian up the stairs. He had once held up the very sky itself for fucks sake, sure it had been for under a minute, but it was still quite the feat and had, at the time, made him ponder whether he did indeed have strength comparable to that of a god, or of Atlas the Titan of Strength and Endurance. Unfortunately though that feat was about more than raw strength, after all both Luke and Annabeth had held it for longer than him, and neither of them had been as strong as him, or even that much stronger than a mortal in peak physical condition.

Letting out another sigh as his thoughts began to wander, Percy continued heading up the stairs, his sword once again in hand as he found himself finally meeting resistance, which annoyingly enough came at a time in which he wasn't in a corridor flooded by sprinkler water.

Raising his sword, Percy made swift, economical slashes as he took the steps one at a time, keeping his balance despite the body of Guardian as he cut the grey creatures down at the legs and knees, and then finished them off by ramming the spiked crossguard of his sword into their bodies, or crushing their chests underfoot.

"You are really not making this easy." Percy growled up to the still unconscious Guardian, a few minutes later as he climbed over the last of the dead and dying genomorphs, making it to the top floor now, leaving behind a trail of nearly fifteen grey skinned bodies as he did so.

"And done." Percy cheered a few moments later as he burst through the door at the top of the staircase and hurled Guardian off of his shoulder and onto the ground, ignoring the loud thudding sound he made as he did so, Percy's sea green eyes instead moving off in the direction of some nearby fighting, no doubt it was his companion at work.

"Nearly there." Percy sighed again, before he grabbed Guardian by the ankle and dragged him after him as he headed towards the fighting, absentmindedly using his razor sharp, bone sword as an impromptu cane as he ascended one more level.

A few minutes later when Percy finally did make it to the source of the fighting, and into a much larger room he found himself pausing again as he took in the site in front of him. First off Robin, Aqualad, Superboy and Kid Flash were all present, each of them darting around the room as they fought their enemy.

The enemy in question being some nine and a half foot tall monstrosity, with glowing red eyes, mottled greyish blue skin and large bulbous muscles, more grotesque than that though was its face, upon which Percy could still spot the remnants of what looked like skin on the creature's body, including a stretch and ripped face that covered the creatures own.

"Well shit, it's a real life Leatherface." Percy mused, pausing for a moment to take it in before he once again dropped Guardian. They were on the home stretch now and Guardian was as safe as he was ever going to be.

"Percy!" Aqualad shouted as he noticed Percy's arrival, even as the four of them dodged and weaved around the attacking Blockbuster, formerly known as the Chief Scientist of Cadmus, Dr Desmond, before he drank one of his own solutions to 'get the power he would need to bring order to Cadmus'.

"Waterboy, Speedy, Capelad." Percy greeted, nodding his head with a grin as he deliberately got their names wrong, for no other reason than because he was bored and feeling a little irritable.

"It's Kid Flash!" Kid Flash retorted as he blurred around the room, bouncing off of pillars as he avoided the creature's charge and arm swipe.

"I think he already knows that, he's just trying to break the tension." Aqualad replied as he backed away from Blockbuster, even as he gave up on chasing Kid Flash and instead got into a tussle with Superboy, both of them punching and kicking each other, with Blockbuster taking the advantage as he landed a blow to Superboy's chin, one which sent him smashing into a nearby pillar.

"Awesome, well he could help instead you know!" Kid Flash replied sarcastically.

"Percy, Aqualad, Kid, keep ugly busy. I need a few minutes to come up with a plan." Robin, the youngest of the group shouted out from where he was crouched behind a pillar further down the room.

"Sounds like fun." Percy shrugged, before he ran at Blockbuster, his sea green eyes locking on the much large beings limbs as he closed in.

"Be careful, he's strong enough to throw Superboy around, he's not someone you can beat with brute force!" Aqualad called after Percy as he saw the older, darker haired boy charge in.

"Noted." Percy replied as he saw the creature lunge for him, his eyes narrowing as he stepped in, his sword raised and at the ready, even as his other hand came up gripping onto Blockbuster's wrist.

After which Percy twisted his wrist and pulled, tugging the much larger, stronger foe off balance, mid lunge, for a moment as he tried to finds his footing, even as Percy darted forwards, lunging forwards with his sword as he thrust it upwards and into Blockbuster's torso. The blade piercing the creature's blueish grey flesh lower down than Percy had aimed, but still causing some internal damage, even if the blade missed the heart and lungs.

Letting out a roar as the sword impaled him, Blockbuster suddenly twisted, his other leg coming up, before he landed a knee into Percy's side. The blow lacking his full power as he was off balance, but being enough to knock Percy away and to one side, despite the Demigod having tried to block with his right arm,

Rolling with the blow, Percy growled as he thrust his hands up and sent out a seismic wave through the air, the sudden wave of vibrational energy hitting Blockbuster head on and knocking him off his feet as it sent him smashing into a nearby pillar, shattering the pillar as he did so.

"Ouch, that hurt." Percy grumbled as he forced himself up, pulling water from the air as he did so, before he then shrouded his hand in it even as he put it over his aching ribs, the water quickly going to work as it healed his aches and pains.

"Dude you just stabbed him, and you're the one complaining about being hurt!?" Kid Flash shouted as he stopped and stared at Percy, even as Superboy let out a roar and tackled the now wounded and bleeding Blockbuster.

"Well it's a sword, that's what it's made for." Percy replied glibly, as he dismissed Kid Flash and instead turned to face Blockbuster. "Besides I missed, I was aiming for the heart. If I had struck true the bastard wouldn't have managed to get that blow on me. It's was a stupid mistake on my part, it's been a while since I last fought an opponent that big and I misjudged."

"Wait you were going for the kill? Dude we're Heroes we don't just kill the bad guys!" Kid Flash said in shock, his attention fully on Percy now.

"What you don't kill monsters?" Percy asked a bemused look on his face. "Hmm, I suppose most of the Heroes here are different than the ones I know."

"Clearly, but for now we should aim at incapacitating Desmond, and doing so in a way that doesn't take his life." Aqualad cut in, not wanting to get caught up in an argument about ethics with their new companion, not when they were in the midst of a fight.

"Well if you want." Percy shrugged, not really seeing what their problems were. Then again most of the enemies he fought regenerated in Tartarus, and the ones that didn't, well he had been at war at the time and sometimes causalities couldn't be helped.

"Yeah! Now everyone listen up, I have a plan!" Robin cut in, his gaze flicking over to Percy for a moment before it went back to Blockbuster when he saw the angry Superboy getting punted into a nearby wall. "We need to aim for the pillars and bring the roof down on him, now I have a plan for how to do this."

"You do that." Percy nodded, before he ran at Blockbuster, his gaze on the sword that was still in his side, the sword now probably stemming the blood flowing from the wound. "I'll keep it busy."

"Wait!" Robin shouted, irritation lacing his voice now.

"No, leave him. He makes a good point, he'll keep Desmond busy whilst we enact your plan, Robin." Aqualad interrupted getting a nod from both Robin and Kid Flash as he did so, even if Robin looked a bit irritated that Percy wasn't listening.

Likewise Superboy also got up and followed Percy's lead, throwing himself forward with a yell as he once again rushed the large, bluish grey skinned, former human.

Ignoring the yell, Percy released vibrational waves from the soles of his feet, blasting himself forward far faster than he usually would be capable of, even as he drew on the surrounding water in the air, forming a layer of water around his finger before he froze it, creating claw like gauntlets.

Following on from that Percy then crashed into Blockbuster, one of his fists smashing the larger being into the face, discombobulating him and knocking him backwards, even as Percy wrapped his other hand around his throat, his ice claws piercing the flesh. Before with another thought the ice melted, and became liquid, even as it suddenly became poisonous, the flesh around the claw wounds rapidly beginning to bubble.

Screaming in agony, Blockbuster grabbed Percy by the arm and threw him away with pure brute force, his other hand clasping his throat, even as his genetically altered body attempted to fight off the poison flowing through his system.

It was a fight he was losing though, because even as he scrabbled at his neck, his veins were visibly beginning to darken, and his scream of pain were turning into a lowly raspy gurgle as he struggled to breathe.

"Hyah!" Superboy roared as oblivious to this he smashed into the slowly dying Blockbuster, sending him hurtling backwards into another pillar, breaking it as he did so and causing a portion of the roof above them to collapse, trapping Blockbuster's legs under the rubble.

"Superboy keep destroying the pillars!" Robin shouted from a few metres back as he and his two companions broke off, only for them to pause when they saw Blockbuster's weakly twitching body and the bubbling, melting skin around its throat.

"I don't think that will be necessary Robin." Aqualad spoke up calmly as he lowered his arms and approached Desmond's gurgling, broken form.

"What did you do?!" Robin shouted as he looked between the startled Superboy and the dismissive Percy, who even now approached Blockbuster and pulled his sword out of its gut, with a wet sucking sound, releasing a sudden flow of blood as he did so.

"I slew a monster." Percy shrugged, before he raised a hand and pulled Blockbuster's blood off of his sword with his hydrokinetic ability, frowning slightly as he found the dark crimson liquid harder to control than a normal humans, once again it seemed he needed to experiment more with this ability. "Though if you want to know exactly what I did, basically I lowered the Ph balance of the water to one and then basically infused it into the creature's neck and blood stream. It looks nasty, but it was a pretty quick way to go really."

"This wasn't a creature, this was a human, a man. You just killed a man in cold blood!" Robin shouted, his voice incredulous as he looked between the still confused Superboy, the stoic Aqualad and the frowning and uncomfortable Kid Flash.

"Exactly, he was a human, but then he mutated his body into this thing and tried to kill us. I'll admit I could have shown more restraint, but he was out of control and trying to kill us." Percy replied looking around at Robin now, his face twisting into a slight frown as he saw the look on the boy's face.

"Look I don't know how they do things where you are from, but we don't kill our captives!" Robin snapped harshly.

"And that thing wasn't our captive, as I said he was out of control, rapid and bloodthirsty. It was a monster and I slew it." Percy retorted, beginning to get angry himself now.

"Enough." Aqualad interrupted stepping between the two. "This was a stressful situation, and our friend here put his life on the line to help us. We might disagree with his actions, but they were in both defence on himself and of us."

"Yeah, besides I think we can leave it up to them to decide…" Kid Flash interrupted as he looked up through the hole in the ceiling and at the members of the Justice League that he could see descending from the sky, and through the partially ruined roof before they fell into place, surrounding him and the others.

"Well shit…" Percy spoke up dryly, even as he sheathed his sword and pulled his coat tighter around him, buckling it closed and hiding the hilt of his sword and his bronze breastplate from sight as he eyed the group of newly arrived Heroes cautiously.

Most of them he knew of, if only by reputation. Of them all though he had only ever met one, and at present that Hero's gaze was boring into him, her waist length, dark hair flowing behind her, and her crystal blue eyes locked on Percy to the exclusion of all else, her flawless features twisting into a look of both anger and perhaps concern.

With the Hero in question being known to the world as Wonder Woman, but Percy knew her as Diana, the Princess of Themyscira and his frenemy of sorts.

Tightening his jaw, Percy resolutely met Diana's gaze, refusing to back down as sea green bored into sky blue.

It was as this stare down was occurring that Superman, a heavily built man with a red cape, a blue body suit and a golden shield on his chest with a rather red S, locked onto his clone's face, taking a sharp intake of breath as he did so. His expression darkening, even as his utterance prompted the other watching Hero beside him, Batman, to speak up.

"Is that what I think it is?" Batman questioned his gaze locked on Superboy, even as Superman resolutely avoided eye contact now, much to his clone's shock.

"He doesn't like being called an it…" Kid Flash spoke up 'helpfully', before he quietened down when he saw his own mentor, the Flash, look at him sharply. With Aquaman, an orange clad man with golden blonde hair and a beard, looking disappointedly down at his own protégé too.

"I'm Superman's clone!" Superboy announced in a yell, throwing caution to the wind as he gazed around at the reaction of the surrounding Heroes, most of whom had stunned expressions on their faces that varied throughout the League members. With even Wonder Woman looing away from Percy and instead looking between Superman and his clone in surprise.

"Start talking." Batman ordered suddenly and the sidekicks, Kid Flash, Robin and Aqualad were quick to obey, with Superboy just standing there awkwardly as the surrounding Heroes looked between the sidekicks and him, their gazes burning with suspicion, caution and curiousity.

As this was happening, Percy himself had begun edging away. Sure he wanted to be a Hero, which is why he had been here, doing some freelance investigation. But at the same time he wasn't sure he wanted the Justice League's scrutiny on him, nor was he entirely sure what their reaction would be to him, after all would they be like Robin and condemn him for killing.

It was all so very strange to him. Percy was used to slaying monsters, he was good at it and had done it many times, in fact by this point it was almost instinctive. On top of that he wasn't a stranger to killing Demigods either, as he had blown up dozens when he and his comrade, Charles Beckondorf, had planted bombs on a luxury ferry, and had killed even more during the battle of Manhattan.

Maybe it was his godly half, but fighting, and killing in the name of Olympus had always felt natural to him, as it had to the other Demigods he knew. It was in their blood, they were born for battle, born to fight the enemies of Olympus and bring honour and glory to their parent's names. Percy was no exception either, despite considering himself independent he had always done everything that was asked of him, and even when he was fucked over by the gods, mainly that bitch Hera, he had continued to do his duty, for his family, for his bloodline and for honour.

"And where do you think you're going?!" The voice of Batman suddenly interrupted the sidekick's stories, the Batman's dark gaze locked on Percy as he continued to sidle away.

"Hmm, well they seem to have everything covered, so I thought I would leave it to them. I mean you know what they say about too many cooks spoiling the broth…" Percy trailed off somewhat lamely.

He might be damn good in a fight, but not so good in an argument, or at talking his way out of trouble.

"Who are you?" Aquaman replied a frown on his face now as he locked gazes with Percy, his gaze harsh but not angry or aggressive.

"Who am I? Well who are you first? Surely you know it's polite to give your own name before demanding another's?!" Percy shot back at him, noticing as he did how Aquaman's eyes narrowed. Yeah he had heard of this Aquaman guy, the proclaimed 'King of Atlantis', well Percy had some thoughts about that.

"Smooth man…" Kid Flash muttered sarcastically from beside him.

"I am Aquaman." Aquaman replied abruptly, "Now as to my question, who are you?"

"Hmm, give me a moment to make up a name and then I'll tell you. Or are you telling me that your name is literally Aquaman, and if it is, is the first name Aqua, second name Man…" Percy retorted, probably a little pettily, but he felt like being a little arsy at the moment, plus he didn't like the man's tone. "So I have to ask does anyone ever call you semen?"

"Show some resp…" Aqualad began to say as both he and his King bristled at Percy's words, only to be interrupted by another strong, stern voice.

"His name is Perseus." Wonder Woman interrupted, her tone sharp as she looked from Batman to Percy.

"You know him?" Batman asked sharply.

"Yes, he is a Hero." Wonder Woman replied brusquely, her tone unwavering.

"No, he's a killer. He killed Desmond, after the guy took the Blockbuster formula, Percy just killed him." Robin said loudly, unexpectedly speaking up as he jumped forward in the story slightly. His words causing the recriminating gazes of the Justice League to fall on Percy.

"Thanks for the assist, snitch." Percy said dryly to Robin, before he looked around at the others. "It's a bit more complicated than that, Desmond turned himself into a mindless monster and tried to kill us, I put him down."

"Things happen in the heat of battle." The dark-skinned green Lantern spoke up at that, with the two bird themed Heroes, Hawkman and Hawkwoman nodding along in agreement. "When in a fight things move swiftly, sometimes there is no other choice."

"What you can't possibly justify this guy killing someone!" Captain Marvel interrupted, his voice full of outrage.

"There is a fine line, but I agree with Green Lantern, sometimes it is necessary. But where possible it should be avoided, those with power must show responsibility." Martian Manhunter pitched in, his tone low and slow, but his words containing a certain weight.

"But if we do give in to that impulse then it will make us no better than the criminals we fight." Green Arrow argued.

"There is a big difference between killing an innocent or a captive, and between killing a man turned monster in mortal combat." Wonder Woman cut in harshly, her gaze moving over the rest of the League as all the members present had a different perspective on the ethical issue of how much force is too much, and is killing ever right or acceptable.

"The Justice League operates by a code, one that condemns killing." Batman cut in, even as the various members began to argue, oblivious of the watching sidekicks, or of their current surroundings. "But in the heat of battle things can happen. Besides this Perseus, is not a member of the League, and so is not accountable to our code. However he is a powered individual, one who seems to want to be a Hero."

"It's just Percy." Percy said after that.

Even as Wonder Woman cut in with her own comment. "Perseus has my full support."

"I do?" Percy replied in surprise.

"He does?" Aquaman asked in confusion, even as many of the other Heroes and sidekicks also looked confused by her words too.

"We'll speak about this later back at Watch Tower." Batman said, looking over to Wonder Woman now who gave a curt nod in response. "Everyone is entitled to their secrets, but if it will potentially threaten the Justice League or the innocent then I'll want to know."

"I will tell the inner circle what I believe necessary." Wonder Woman replied brusquely, before she looked around at the others. "But other than that, like Batman said, Perseus, like everyone else is entitled to his secrets."

Percy frowned as he heard this, but didn't object, after all Wonder Woman only knew so much about him, and even then that was because the Amazonian's guarded the gate of Tartarus on this world, a gate that Percy himself was very familiar with.

"Very well, now continue." Batman said with finality, before he looked back to Robin, who in turn pushed back his own burning curiousity and continued the story. During which Percy continued to get many glances from the assembled Leaguers, especially when Robin 'helpfully' described some of his abilities, or the ones he had seen, and Aqualad pitched in on some of his Hydrokinetic capabilities.

All of which got intensely curious looks from Aquaman, as well as a narrowed eyed judging look from Batman.

"…and then Superboy landed a final hit on the dying Blockbuster, which knocked him through a pillar, and well…" Robin trailed off as he gestured over at the lifeless body of Blockbuster that was still buried under the rubble.

It was a pretty brief retelling, but Percy had to admit Robin had locked onto most of the key points, on top of which he was very curious about the confrontation with the horned genomorph and the realisation that this being had been controlling other genomorphs and had been helping Superboy. It almost made him feel guilt for kill so many of them, then again the fact they had been trying to kill him at the time assuaged some of that guilt though.

"We'll uh… we'll figure something out for you. The League will… I mean. For now… I'd better make sure that the rest of Cadmus is properly secured and investigated and Guardian is safe." Superman said awkwardly to Superboy as the rest of the Leaguers broke up, after which he turned and flew away, leaving a very frustrated and disappointed Superboy behind as he did so.

Not that Percy really paid much attention as his gaze was instead on Wonder Woman as she strode up to him.

"So this is what you've been up to." Wonder Woman said bluntly as she came to a stop in front of Percy.

"Well yeah, did you really think I was going to stay on that island?" Percy replied abruptly.

"You could have told us you were leaving, as opposed to just disappearing one day." Wonder Woman replied, her tone still tinged with anger.

"You're telling me that you wouldn't have tried to stop me?" Percy retorted, only for Wonder Woman to pause, as she found she couldn't answer that. "I thought so."

Wonder Woman frowned at that, even as she looked over to where Batman, Aquaman, the Flash and Black Canary were confronting the other three sidekicks and Superboy. The conversation looking tense as Batman apparently told them something they didn't like, which in turn made them group together as they looked challengingly at their mentors.

"So what happens now?" Percy asked into the silence that followed, bringing Diane's attention back to him.

"I… I'm not sure." Diane replied, shifting about as she met Percy's eyes, before she then looked over his shoulder to where the sidekicks now seemed to be celebrating.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So that's the chapter what do you all think? I hope you enjoyed it and review!?**

 **Other than that I can also confirm that I have decided on a final pairing for Percy, or one that I want if thing plan out how I want them to, a pretty much unused one, and one that a feel will be pretty fun to explore. Not that I'll be letting it slip, because I am a bastard like that and enjoy keeping people waiting. That being said since I don't believe in love at first sight at all, Percy, like other normal people, will be dating around a bit before he meets the one.**

 **That being said that doesn't mean that this will be a harem story. I'm afraid I don't like those types of stories as a rule, in fact thus far I've only read three harem stories that I genuinely liked, I've got my eye on a couple of others as I wait before making my decision. The reason being that those types of stories have poorly constructed characters, cringey dialogue, shallow, hollow MCs, with some of them being so bad that I just stopped reading and gave up.**

 **In fact I myself was guilty of writing one such story on my other account, one of my very first stories, a Naruto/ Highschool DxD called Ten Tailed Wolf, which I gave up on because it was so bad. So yeah I'm sorry but the occasional multiple pairing yes, harems large or small, no. I don't feel confident enough in my abilities to write one.**

 **Next thing I want to mention is Percy's abilities. I went over all of them in this chapter, for those who are interested I will put a list down:**

 **Hydrokinesis:**

 **\- Manipulating Water, solidifying, molding and drawing it from multiple sources.**

 **\- Manipulating Water on a molecular level, making water boil, freeze and changing its Ph.**

 **\- Blood control, manipulating the water inside of bodies. This is unperfected, harder to control and has limits.**

 **\- Toxikinesis and Cryokinesis**

 **Geokinesis:**

 **\- Basic geokinetic abilities**

 **\- Vibration manipulation, absorption, enhancement and creation of seismic waves (Quake from Agents of Shield if you want an example)**

 **\- Potential for metal bending (see Avatar the Last Airbender for example)**

 **Creation of storms (limited skill and practice in using this, thus far):**

 **-Electrokinesis (limited)**

 **-Aerokinesis (limited)**

 **Heat Resistance**

 **Resistance to pressure**

 **Other than that he has the standard abilities of a stronger than average Demigod (Riordan verse)**

 **As you can see I have expanded on all of his canon abilities far more than they were developed in the books. On top of which I have expanded on Percy's character more, making him someone who learns and grows from his experiences.**

 **Wow longer AN than I thought, still you got a big junk of story too, so meh. Other than that I hope you all continue to read and enjoy, I have plenty more planned!**

 **Thanks a lot for reading and please leave a review. Try my other stories too if you have some time.**

 **Catch you later.**

 **Greed720.**

 **PS. Can anyone recommend me any good stories to read?**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey all here I am with the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy it! Response to last chapter was pretty positive, and the recommendation were really appreciated so thanks for that, I now have plenty of stuff to check out. That being said the recommendations are for all sorts of fandoms and crossovers, some of which I have never looked into or read before, like One Piece and a thing called Gate.**

 **So yeah if you fancy any check out my reviews, there are some brilliant suggestions in there. Including one chap/ chapess who recommended me one of my own stories, which I found sweet, but also pretty amusing.**

 **Anyway here's the chapter I hope you enjoy it and leave a review.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or anything from the DC universe.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"_ _You're telling me that you wouldn't have tried to stop me?" Percy retorted, only for Wonder Woman to pause, as she found she couldn't answer that. "I thought so."_

 _Wonder Woman frowned at that, even as she looked over to where Batman, Aquaman, the Flash and Black Canary were confronting the other three sidekicks and Superboy. The conversation looking tense as Batman apparently told them something they didn't like, which in turn made them group together as they looked challengingly at their mentors._

 _"_ _So what happens now?" Percy asked into the silence that followed, bringing Diane's attention back to him._

 _"_ _I… I'm not sure." Diane replied, shifting about as she met Percy's eyes, before she then looked over his shoulder to where the sidekicks now seemed to be celebrating._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 4**

 **( - )**

 **(Nine months ago, on the island of Themyscira)**

 _There was an abrupt feeling of tension as fifty, armed and armoured Amazons waited in front of the Gates of Tartarus, one of the few exits and entrances to the infernal hell-scape, that was the Pit, and a place that had been guarded by the Amazonian's of Themyscira for millennia now._

 _It was a place that they had protected with blood, sweat and tears, from both those that sought it to release the monsters from Tartarus, and those that found the ever moving and shifting gateway in the endless pit of hell, and tried to break out._

 _At present that was exactly what these Amazonians were doing, the fifty of them were the guardians, women that had trained for centuries, some even millennia, and had tested their mettle in scores of battles, with all of them having devoted their lives to sacred duty of guarding the gates and safeguarding the mortal realm._

 _"_ _Ready bows!" One of the Amazonian's shouted, her crimson red hair tied back in a waist long pony tail, and her body clad in burnished bronze armour. "Remember to show no mercy, as you will be shown no mercy in return!"_

 _All around her twenty Amazonian warriors knocked arrows on their bows and drew them back, their enhanced physiology meaning allowing them to hold their two hundred and fifty pound bows firm, the barbed shafts aimed at the colossal black door sin front of them, even as they shook again, small motes of dust falling from the caverns ceiling as they did so._

 _"_ _Whatever comes through that door, we bring it down. We cannot allow a single eldritch monstrosity to pass through those doors, for that is our duty!" The red head continued loudly, whipping her spear through the air and thrusting it at the chained, shaking doorway, even as it ominously shook again, an ominous thud reverberating throughout the rocky chamber they were in, as if someone, or something was slamming into the door from the other side. "We are the guardians of the gate, we are the eternal watchers, those who guard this world against the infernal forces of darkness!"_

 _"_ _Yes Lady Pyrrha!" The Amazonian's around her chorused, even as they readied their weapons, all of them wielding an assortment of weapons, either swords, shields, bows, spears, axes, or maces, an mixture of magical weapons that had been crafted by the finest Amazonian smiths, fletcher, bowyers and enchanted by their greatest spell casters._

 _These were weapons that would allow them to pierce the flesh of immortals, whether they be god, Titan or monster. With them all also wearing magical armour, designed in the style of the ancient Greek Hoplites, a perfect mix of protection and manoeuvrability._

 _As if in response to her words, the gates shook again, only this time they opened a crack, an ominous red light beginning to leak out as the crack slowly but surely widened, the protections around the gates, both physical and magical groaning as something pushed against them._

 _Eyes narrowed and weapons clutched tightly in their hands, the guardians watched as the colossal gates continued to shake, even as a shadowed figure began to push through the small gap._

 _"_ _Ready!" Lady Pyrrha roared, hoping as she did that the reinforcements she requested were on their way, even as she raised her round, bronze shield in front of her, her body lowering to the ground and her spear raising, the tip pointed at the still emerging figure._

 _Around her the rest of the guardians did the same, their technique perfect, as their centuries of practices and experience came into play. These were some of the finest warriors in the known world, and they were ready to crush anything that forced its way through the gateway._

 _A low roar emerged from the gates, even as a bloodied hand erupted from the shadows, the distinctly human looking appendage gripping onto the edge of the gate, even as the figure it belonged to heaved himself through the gap he had created._

 _"_ _For Blood and Honour, for Death and Glory, for the Gods!" Pyrrha shouted, her emerald green eyes narrowing, as she saw the figure continue to emerge, the ground below her trembling ominously, with rocks beginning to fall from the cavernous roof overhead, even as a cold, cruel wind seemed to swirl around the chamber._

 _"_ _Unleash hell!" Pyrrha continued, letting loose a battle cry, her fellow warriors doing the same as they saw the figure finally pull himself loose from the gates of Tartarus, the great black, hell-forged metal gates slamming shut behind him with a deafening boom._

 _"_ _Charge!"_

 **( - )**

 **(At the present time, in the Justice League Headquarters)**

"Speak Diana, just what is this Perseus to you?" Batman asked bluntly, as he stood across from Wonder Woman, Superman, Martian Manhunter, the Flash, Aquaman and Hawkwoman.

All of them standing around in a closed off conference room, just off from the main atrium, all of them listening in patiently, as they met up in the Watchtower, the Justice League's orbiting base, to discuss recent happenings.

"I suppose you could say he is my cousin." Diana replied carefully, her blue eyes boring into Batman's own, her own gaze unwavering.

"I thought there were no men allowed on Themyscira?" Batman replied abruptly, knowing a she did that he had only been to the place once, and only then for a short time, as Wonder Woman had asked for his and a couple of other Leaguer's help. Other than that though, none of the members of the League were allowed there without Diana's permission, nor were any males that he knew of allowed to reside on the island either.

"Exceptions can occasionally be made, as you should know." Diana replied stiffly, her blue eyes flickering around to the others, reminding them of the half day they had spent on the island.

"How long have you known him?" Superman asked next, his approach much warmer than Batman, even if he had his own reservations about this Perseus character and his actions, then again he was also deeply disturbed about the Superboy clone too, and as such maybe being too harsh on the teen.

"I met him for the first time around nine months ago." Diana replied, looking over at Superman now, before retuning her attention to Batman, the main questioner here. "But he left the island two months ago without telling me, so I have only intermittently known him for around seven months, and even then I only spent time with him in between my duties as Wonder Woman and as an Ambassador for my people."

"Seven months is not long, especially considering he is family, and the trust that you placed in him, when you vouched for him." Hawkwoman pushed, her gaze much warmer than Batman's own as she approached this more like a discussion between friends, as oppose to an interrogation, which was what Batman was obviously trying to make this out to be.

"As you say he is family and I trust him, that is all you need know, the rest is personal." Diana retorted curtly, though she did soften her tone slightly when speaking to her friend, Shayera. "He has a good heart, and good intentions too."

Hawkwoman nodded at that, personally satisfied by the fact Diana trusted him. Plus she wasn't all that concerned about the teen in the first place, he got the job done, and she wasn't going to lose any sleep over a villain being put down. If anything she applauded his resolve, then again she was from Thanagar where they tended to do things somewhat differently to earthlings.

Batman however was not so easily assuaged, not even by the words of one of the founders of the League. "There is a few more things I would still like to ask. What are his powers? Why did he leave the island? And I would like more clarification on his origins, and connection to you?"

Diana scowled as she heard these demands. Batman, or rather Bruce Wayne as she knew him, was a good man at heart. However the man had serious trust issues, was paranoid and was obsessed with control. It could be very grating at times, especially when it came to him demanding things of his allies, like he was currently doing. It often tended to alienate and annoy people.

"Bruce." Superman said, a frown on his face as he stepped forward.

"What happened to people being entitled to their secrets?" Flash also spoke up, referencing the words Batman himself had spoken only hours earlier.

"There are exceptions." Batman replied bluntly, before he fixed his gaze on Diana. "I would like to know at least a little more about the boy, before we do anything."

"First things first, he is not a boy, he is a man, and a Heroic one at that." Diana said her expression brooking no argument. "As for your questions, I will tell you what I deem necessary. I presume he left the island to explore the world a bit more and because he wanted to use his powers to fight the good fight. His powers and origins are his business, and it is up to him whether he tells you. I will not betray his trust."

"Diana." Batman said with a scowl, disliking how intransigent she was being.

"Enough," Aquaman cut in when he saw the stubborn look on Diana face and the Batman's hard glare. "We get nowhere by arguing. Diana trusts him, even if he is a very rude, and abrasive person, in spite of that she believes in him. As such the real question here, is do we trust Diana?"

"Absolutely." Superman replied immediately.

"Without question." Hawkwoman tagged on.

"She has proven herself trustworthy many times over, her character should not, and has never been, in question." Martian Manhunter spoke up next, his red eyed gaze shifting between the other members of the League.

"Eh," The Flash chipped in, before he let loose a weak smile when he saw the other members looking at him. "I mean all jokes aside of course, I trust her completely."

"As do I," Aquaman nodded, before he and the rest of the members looked to Batman. "Batman?"

Batman scowled as he saw the other members of the inner circle looking at him, before he locked gazes with Diana. "Diana herself has my trust. But I still want to know more about her protégé."

"Protégé?" Diana asked, smiling around at her companions, glad that she had their trust, and that this conversation would soon be coming to an end. After which she looked back to Bruce, her lips curving upwards in amusement. "Perseus is not my protégé, he is a Hero in his own rights. One that I think would be a great boon to the League."

"How old is he?" Superman asked suddenly a slight frown on his face as Diana floated the idea of the teen joining the League. "I've never heard of him before, nor do I know of any city with a Hero like him in it."

"As I said he has only been in Man's world for two months now, so I doubt he would have had much of an impact yet. Especially since he was likely getting the lie of the land as he tried to establish himself as a Hero, which was also probably why he was in Washington DC, the site of our public headquarters, to begin with." Diana replied, her tone easier now. "As for his age…, well that's a slightly trickier question to answer."

"Tricky how? Surely his age should be an easy question to answer." Flash spoke up with a slight laugh.

"Indeed." Batman added, his eyes narrowing, though not at anyone in particular, as he instead looked to be in deep thought over what Diana had just said.

"Biologically he is eighteen-ish, mentally he is probably older." Diana replied carefully, before she frowned. "It is complicated to explain, not without giving away secrets about him that I feel are not mine to reveal."

The other members of the League all looked confused by Diana's answer, save for Martian Manhunter and Batman. With the Bat still looking deep in thought, not reacting to her words in the slightest. Whilst Martian Manhunter was not as confused as the others, after all Martian's aged and matured at different rates to humans, and so he had some experience of things like this already.

"Ok, that's helpful." Flash said with a chuckle.

To which Diana shrugged, before she looked around. "If that is all?"

"Yes," Superman nodded, "Thank you for speaking with us like this, I know it was probably taxing. But still we appreciate it, just as I hope you appreciate why we needed some clarification about this Perseus."

"It's fine," Diana nodded, even as some of the other Leaguers began to speak up, echoing Superman's comments. "Bruce, I take it my answers were satisfactory?"

"For now," Batman said slowly, not mentioning that she hadn't actually told them all that much about the mysterious Perseus, as he instead forged on with what he was saying. "For now I will put my trust in Perseus, or at least until he proves himself anything but trustworthy."

"Very well." Diana said after a few moments, knowing as she did that that was the best she was going to get from Batman. Thankfully though the others were a lot more open and trusting, with even Aquaman, despite Perseus's deliberate provocation, acknowledging the teen, if only because Diana had spoken up for him.

 **( - )**

 **(With Percy)**

Entering his home base or 'lair' a couple of hours after his jaunt in sublevels below Cadmus Labs, and his meeting with many of the big hitters in the Justice League, Percy looked around the place that had been his home for the last few months.

It was a small, derelict, old shoe factory, one that was situated on the outskirts of the city. With it being a moderately large building that had had all the machinery stripped out of it decades ago, after which it had been left to rot.

Noticeably most of the windows on the factories main floor had been smashed, and since been boarded up, and the electricity and water going to the building had been shut off. But other than that it was fine, it was watertight, had strong walls made of red brick and decent foundations.

A diesel generator and some lights he had pinch from a building site on the other side of the city, one for a new Lex Corp facility, had sorted out most of the issues. Plus a bit of tinkering around with the water pipes had allowed him to reconnect to the water mains, even if he wasn't paying for it.

Obviously it wasn't the most comfortable of places, but it would do for the moment. Besides he only used the main floor for training really, he didn't exactly live there, instead he made his home in an old office just off the main floor. A small room he had made himself comfortable in with a lumpy old sofa, a fridge, TV, and an electric heater all of which had been connected up to the generator.

Wandering through the large, empty main floor, Percy looked for any signs of intrusion, not that he expected to find any, before he then headed for the office. Entering the small but comfortable room with a sigh of relief, before he then pulled off his tan coloured Nemean Lion skinned coat, throwing it onto his sofa as he did so.

Twisting around again and looking out of the office's windows and down at the factory floor below, Percy then began to undo the straps on his celestial bronze cuirass, first loosening both of his spaulders with practiced ease, after which he unstrapped the rest of the cuirass's buckles, pulling the entire piece of armour off as he did so.

With another sigh of relief leaving his mouth as he dropped the heavy armour onto the sofa as well, after which he looked down at his undershirt, which he could already see was damp from his sweat, with him then pulling that off too, before he threw it into a corner of the room. He would need to head to the laundromat later that was his last good shirt.

Twisting his body and rolling his shoulders, Percy was taking off his belt, and the sheathed Drakon bone sword he had hanging from it, before he was then interrupted by the sound of something landing on the roof of the factory with a thud.

"What now." Percy grumbled to himself, unsheathing his Drakon bone longsword as he did before he threw the belt and attached sheath onto the sofa, after which he headed outside and down the metal steps which led to the factory floor, his sea green eyes fixed on the roof as he did so, even if he had a good idea just who it was that was visiting him.

What followed next was a grating of metal as one of the panels on the roof was bent and warped by the intruder, the panel bending upwards revealing the darkening sky above, but only for a moment, before the gap was filled by a familiar, dark haired woman who clambered through before she then floated easily to the ground.

"You know I do have a door, you didn't need to break in or anything." Percy said grumpily as he watched Wonder Woman land on the shop floor, her lips pursed in disapproval as she looked around at her surroundings, before a scowl passed across her face when she saw Percy walking towards her, his longsword resting easily on his shoulder.

"Perseus." Diana said irritably, her blue eyes narrowing as she saw him approach.

"Diana." Percy nodded, not even bothering to tell her how he preferred Percy to Perseus, after all if he had said it once, he had said it a thousand times, and every time she ignored him. "How did you find me?"

"No doubt the same way you found out that the League was suspicious about Cadmus Labs." Diana replied, her lips curving upwards slightly as she did so, in spite of her current irritation with Percy.

"Donna, you really can't tell her anything eh." Percy sighed, rolling his eyes in exasperation at the thought of the loud and lively dark haired girl, a girl that he had become very fond of during his time on the Themyscira. "Though to be fair she just clued me in about how you mentioned the League was suspicious about the place the last time you visited. I was the one who did all the investigations, scoped out the place and found the lab and what not, you know when the fire started."

"I don't know, she managed to not tell me what you've been up to for the last few months, and it took a lot of bribery and a bit of investigation to even find this place." Diana replied sharply, not pointing out how Percy had only found out about the sublevels due to the sidekicks getting there first, no she would point that out later.

"What business is it of yours what I do?" Percy asked irritably, a scowl on his own face now, before he turned and walked to a nearby table, pulling the dust cover off of it as he did so, before he dropped his sword on the pitted and aged surface, alongside the other things already on there.

"You are my family, I reserve the right to know what you're up to." Diana replied swiftly, before her blue eyes trailed over to Percy, moving over his tanned, heavily scarred and muscled chest and instead down to the table. Her gaze narrowing as she saw what was on it, before she then looked around at the rest of the factory. "Besides as the Princess of the Amazon's I believe it is also my business when you apparently raided the armoury before you left."

And that was putting it nicely, because as Diana looked around the warehouse she quickly noted several Amazonian bracers, similar to the ones she herself wore on one of the tables, as well as several finely crafted, sheathed Amazonian swords of Greek, Roman and Medieval European design, a pair of identical axes, a red plumed Greek helmet, three sets of greaves, two round bronze coloured shields, a large Halberd of all things, a flanged mace and a dust covered bow with several wrapped up sheaths of arrows.

"Well sort of family." Percy replied easily, as he turned to face Diana, not too concerned about her discovery. In fact he kind of enjoyed pissing her off, which was partly why he had pulled the cover off of his weapons table in the first place. "As for the stuff, well it was just lying around gathering dust so I thought I would help myself."

"We are cousins whether you like it or not. The ichor of the gods flow through our veins, they may not be of the same world, but they are of the same Pantheon, as too are we." Diana said patiently, not allowing Percy to shrug off their connection so easily.

Percy rolled his eyes at that but didn't deny Diana's words. "I've not met the gods of this world so I can't compare, but I am pretty sure from what I've seen and heard, that they are different beings to the ones I knew."

What Percy didn't say though was that although each of their worlds may have a different set of Olympians, they did possibly share the same Primordial Gods, beings that apparently transcended dimensions, after all how else could Percy fall into Tartarus on his world, and come out of Tartarus on another. Or at least that was what he thought, after all it was the only thing that made sense to him in regards to his current circumstances.

"Maybe, but it does not change the fact that we are connected, and the Amazonians and I will never abandon you, no matter how much you try and push us away." Diana replied firmly, not backing down as she instead approached Percy and placed a firm hand on his bare shoulder.

Percy winced at that, though not at the tight grip she had on his shoulder, but rather at her words. They hit him like the blows from a warhammer.

"As for you raiding the armoury, well you better put it to good use, otherwise I'm taking it back." Diana added on, her blue gaze flickering over to the dust covered bow as she did so. With her full lips curving upwards in amusement, even as her gaze shifted back to Percy.

Following her gaze, Percy chuckled slightly. "Yeah I was probably being a bit too ambitious when I took the bow, I tried it out, and trust me I couldn't hit a barn wall from five paces using one."

"We all have our talents." Diana replied a slight smile on her face now. "Even if your talent is annoying your older cousin."

"Well we are family apparently…." Percy retorted, his tone once again dry as he parroted her words back to her.

"I'm glad you finally admit it." Diana replied with a smirk as she released him and instead began to look around his 'lair' with a look of disapproval on her flawless face.

"That wasn't what I…" Percy began, before he sighed, Amazonian's apparently didn't understand sarcasm.

"So this is where you've been staying?" Diana spoke up loudly as she finished surveying the dusty, derelict old factory and looked back to Percy. "Well this won't do at all. No, you will be moving to Mount Justice and staying there."

"Come again." Percy replied, folding his arms in front of his chest as he did so.

"It is the Justice League's former base of operations." Diana replied easily.

"With a name like that, who would have thought…?" Percy replied sarcastically. "What I meant is why do you want me to go there?"

"The Justice League has decided to put together a covert team made up of some of the younger Heroes, including the sidekicks you met at Cadmus. I would like for you to join up, I have already cleared it with the rest of the League, subject to your agreement of course." Diana replied bluntly.

"And why would I want to join some kiddie team, why can't I join the proper Justice League?" Percy replied, he wanted to join the Hero profession and use his abilities to safeguard the weak and vulnerable in society, but even so he was no sidekick or junior Hero. It might be his ego speaking, but considering his feats, he deemed himself far above the level of a sidekick.

"It's partly experience." Diana replied abruptly, before she continued on when Percy opened his mouth to object. "You are a skill warrior Perseus, your swordsmanship is on a par with even some of the greatest Amazonian sword masters, and your Demigod abilities are powerful and versatile. However you, by your own admission, are used to predominantly fighting monsters. The villains of this world are different, there are many hundreds of them, all of whom have different skills and abilities. You need experience fighting against these types of foe, and more than that you need to learn to show more restraint. I and some others in the League may not disagree with how you dealt with Blockbuster, however some of the others are more… squeamish. There is a reason why we don't kill our enemies."

"So what you would rather let them run free? Or put them in jail cells only for them to breakout a few months later and continue committing atrocities?" Percy asked, his voice incredulous as he locked onto this last statement, after all he couldn't deny her previous ones. He didn't have experience fighting the many villains of this world, some of whom had a whole range of powers and abilities he had never gone up against before.

"It's tricky and an area of great contention for the League." Dian replied carefully. "Everyone has a different opinion, especially on killing, incapacitation and imprisonment. Thus far though the Heroes of the League aim to incapacitate, that way we can then let the governments of the world process and punish the villains, with the onus being on them to make sure true justice is served. To do otherwise would scare some people especially those in power, and would likely gain the League more enemies than friends."

"You're talking about politics?" Percy spoke up, his voice tinged with disgust.

Diana sighed as she heard that, before she leant against a nearby table. "Unfortunately yes, for the League to work we need the acceptance of most of the world's countries and governments, and funding too. That means that we need to act in a certain way, or at least that is the way I see it. It is annoying, but it is unfortunately necessary."

Percy grumbled at that, he wasn't some maniacal sociopath that enjoyed killing for the sake of killing. However he very much believed in efficiency, you could give a violent, murderous criminal a second chance maybe if they prove themselves redeemable, but a third chance or a fourth or a fifth? There had to be a limit to how many chances a person could get before you had to write them off as a lost cause. It was a difficult line to toe, but Percy was willing to step up and do what was necessary if it meant protecting the many from the violent and volatile few.

"That being said, although executing captive criminals is not acceptable, if one were to die in battle, well that would be a whole other thing." Diana continued, her tone very careful now as she locked eyes with Percy. "After all when fighting against some powerful, violent and mentally unstable supervillain accidents can happen…"

Percy narrowed his eyes as he heard this, but didn't respond to, or even acknowledge Diana's last statement. "So this team?"

"I think it would be a good thing for you. It would give you a good place to live, free bed and board, provide you with top of the line training facilities, and it would give you access to any equipment you may need. All you need do is undertake low profile missions, which will allow you to build up the experience you need to join the Justice League." Diana replied, her tone easier now as she saw that she had Percy's attention. "Which won't be long as I am planning on recommending you in six months' time when the League comes together to discuss the new members they will be inducting into the Justice League. Until then you just need to gain experience and to not alienate too many of the other Heroes in the League."

"So a temporary placement then?" Percy asked curiously, ignoring the jibe about alienating people. He had only made those snippy comments to Aquaman because he was feeling petty, and didn't like the man's presumption in calling himself the King of Atlantis and Lord of the Sea. It was a Son of Poseidon thing.

"A temporary testing ground for you to gain experience, learn about the many superpowered villains that roam this world, and hone your skills." Diana clarified with a nod. "Plus I will feel a lot better knowing where you are, as oppose to bribing your location out of Donna every time I visit. Already her mother is getting irritated with how many sweets I have been giving the girl." Diana then continued, her lips twitching upwards at the thought of her precocious, nine year old half-sister.

Percy hummed in response to that, his sea green eyes trailing over his lacklustre surroundings before moving back to Diana. He liked a lot of what she was saying, enough to know that he probably would go for it. After all joining this team would be similar to being at Camp Half Blood, he would get bed and board, equipment and facilities for training, in return for which he undertook quests, or rather missions, gaining experience as he did so.

He would have to be an idiot to say no to such an opportunity, that or someone who's ego knew no bounds.

Fortunately Percy was not such a person, turning to Diana he nodded his head. "Alright then, I'll join the team. Though I'm not letting you micromanage me."

"Ha! As if I would, I have my own life to live you know." Diana shot back with a smile. "I just want to make sure you don't pick a fight with someone you're not ready for yet and end up dead."

"Wow, your confidence in me is overwhelming isn't it?" Percy retorted dryly.

"Don't be shitty, you know what I mean." Diana replied easily, before she looked around the factory once more. "But anyway let's start packing up your things, tonight you'll be staying with me, in a place that actually has heating."

Percy rolled his eyes as he heard that, but didn't refuse.

 **( - )**

 **(A few days later)**

Currently the sidekicks, Kid Flash, Robin, Aqualad and Superboy were standing in the main chamber of Mount Justice, near the town of Happy Harbour. The place in question being a hollowed out volcano, one that had once been the original sanctum for the Justice League in their first couple of years.

At present though the place was being refurbished as the security was updated and the old facilities stripped out and replaced, the Green Lanterns with their power rings making very handy labourers as they did what would take dozens of men several days, in mere minutes.

Looking around at the ongoing activities, the four sidekicks were all noticeably dressed in civilian clothing, with Superboy now wearing a black and red Superman t-shirt as oppose to his white body suit. The other three however just wore casual trainers, trousers, shirts and coats.

Though Robin did still wear a pair of sunglasses, despite being inside, obscuring his eyes, and thus making it more difficult for anyone to work out his identity, even if those around him were all allies. This of course was due to the ingrained paranoia that had been trained into him by the Batman.

"This cave was the original secret sanctuary for the Justice League. We're calling it into service again. Since you four are determined to stay together and fight the good fight… you'll do it on League terms. Red Tornado has volunteered to live here and be your supervisor, Black Canary's in charge of training, I will deploy you on missions." Batman said curtly, his tone stoic and blunt as he rattled off his 'welcome speech' as fast as he could.

"Real missions?" Robin asked, his gaze on his mentor.

"Yes, but covert." Batman replied promptly, his cowled head moving to Robin for a moment, before he looked back at the rest of the group.

"The League will still handle the obvious stuff. There's a reason we have these big targets on our chests." Flash added in from where he was stood next to Batman, his loud, red and gold outfit standing out prominently when next to the Batman's grey and black clad form, even as he tapped the lightning bolt symbol on the front of his chest.

"But Cadmus proves that the bad guys are getting smarter. Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly." Aquaman chipped in too, the blonde haired man folding his arms in front of his muscled chest with a smile on his face, his own orange and green costume clashing with Batman's just like the Flash's did.

"The six of you will be that team," Batman finished, his gaze shooting to the two other Heroes beside him, before he looked back down at the sidekicks.

"Sweet!" Robin said, going to high-five as he did so, only to pause as he clocked onto just what Batman had said, "Wait, the six of us?"

Batman scowled as he heard that question, before he nodded to the Zeta Tube, where Martian Manhunter approached from the shadows, accompanied by an attractive looking green skinned girl, who had waist length red hair, a smattering of dark green freckles and warm brown eyes. With the girl looking eerily similar to Martian Manhunter in terms of skin tone, as well as with the cloaked costume she was wearing.

"This is the Martian Manhunter's niece," Batman then introduced, glancing over at the girl as he did so, before he turned back to the sidekicks, "Miss Martian."

"Hi." Miss Martian said shyly, giving a half wave to the other sidekicks as she did so.

"Liking this gig more every minute." Kid Flash muttered to Robin, before he sent the green skinned girl a massive smile and sidled over to her. "Welcome aboard. I'm Kid Flash. That's Robin, Aqualad, and Superboy. But don't worry though, it's cool if you forget their names." Kid Flash then continued cockily.

"I'm honoured to be included." Miss Martian said, her eyes lingering on Superboy longer than the others as she greeted the other sidekicks.

Not that Superboy really cared as he was more concerned with being rejected once again by Superman, who hadn't even bothered to show up.

"Superboy, come meet Miss M." Robin said as gestured for Superboy to come over and join the other three in greeting the Martian girl.

Looking over Miss Martian morphed her shirt into the same colour as Superboy's, her gaze locking onto the dark haired, blue eyed boy, even as she sent him another small smile.

"I like your t-shirt." Miss Martian said shyly, in response to which Superboy smiled.

Aqualad also smiled slightly as he saw this, before he looked around in confusion. "Wait, Miss Martian makes five, who is the sixth member of the team."

Aquaman shifted uncomfortably as he heard that question, sharing a look with Batman as he did so. Whilst Flash just smiled nonchalantly and nodded over to the other side of the chamber where two figures could be seen approaching. One of whom was the familiar, dark haired, beauty Wonder Woman, wearing her full costume as she strode confidently towards them. With the other one as also familiar to at least four of them, with it being Perseus, only now he was wearing a pair of blue jeans, his brown leather boots, and a plain orange T-shirt over the top of which he had on his tan coloured coat, with its golden coloured, fur lining.

"Wait." Aqualad said in surprise.

"No way." Kid Flash tagged on.

"You've got to be kidding me?" Robin added on incredulously, looking to the stoic Batman as he did so.

"Hn!" Superboy grunted, recognising the dark haired teen from Cadmus, after all he was one of the few people he actually knew, and one of the few he had already fought with.

"Ermm hello." Miss Martian said shyly, waving awkwardly to Percy when she saw some of the other sidekick's reactions.

"So today is the day, eh." Percy grinned, as he looked around at the other five, younger, surprised looking sidekicks.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what did you all think? There were some important bits in this chapter, as well as more of a glimpse into Percy's history. Don't worry though, the other parts such as the previous bit of backstory will all be explained as the story continues. There is a method in my maddness. I'm just trying something different in regards to my writing style.**

 **Also it allowed me to explore more about the ethics of the different members of the League, I never liked the fandom belief that every single member of the League thinks alike in regards to how they deal with psychos like the Joker.**

 **That being said there will be a lot of division in regards to the Justice League, just as there is in the wider world, and wider universe.**

 **Also I've taken liberties with the origins of some DC characters that aren't in the Young Justice series, due in part to the sheer amount of different versions of these characters that inundate the DC universe.**

 **Other than that there were a lot of suggestions for who the pairing might be, but none of them were right for the one I am angling for. Though if the story doesn't develop how I want it to then that won't happen either. I say I have a pairing in mind, but that is just my preference, if it doesn't fit with the story though I won't include it. I don't want to force anything, nor do I want to ruin my story just fit in a pairing I like.**

 **For those who desperately want to know my ideal pairing choices I'll be angling for, ask and I'll happily tell you.**

 **So yeah, hoped you all enjoyed the chapter and leave a review.**

 **Thanks for reading and I'll catch you later.**

 **Greed720.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hey all hope you're all doing well! Here is the next chapter, and it turned out to be a lot longer than I originally planned, then again I doubt there are many who are going to complain about a longer chapter than normal.**

 **That being said I want to thank everyone for their kind reviews, I really do read and appreciate all of them, even those that a critical, as long as they are also constructive. In regards to that there was one query I wanted to address and that is the flash backs on two of the previous chapters, all questions in those will be resolved, but it will happen as the story progresses. I am trying something new in regards to my story telling, as oppose to giving a big info dump at the start of the story, in the first few chapters. So yes all questions will be resolved, and all loose strings tied up.**

 **Other than that I hope you enjoy and leave a review.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the DC universe, obviously otherwise this would be canon.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"You've got to be kidding me?" Robin added on incredulously, looking to the stoic Batman as he did so._

 _"Hn!" Superboy grunted, recognising the dark haired teen from Cadmus, after all he was one of the few people he actually knew, and one of the few he had already fought with._

 _"Ermm hello." Miss Martian said shyly, waving awkwardly to Percy when she saw some of the other sidekick's reactions._

 _"So today is the day, eh." Percy grinned, as he looked around at the other five, younger, surprised looking sidekicks._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 5**

 **( - )**

 **(18th July 2010, Mount Justice)**

" **Recognized: Perseus, B06"** Mount Justice's zeta tube platform rang out in a robotic, tinny voice, announcing Percy's arrival in the cave, even as he walked through the teleportation machine, and wasn't that a cool science fiction type thing.

"Gods dammit Diana, it's Percy, just Percy." Percy complained irritably as he walked into the main chamber of the hollowed out mountain, scowling at the funky looking tube like machine in irritation as he did so, he knew Diana had something to do with that designation.

Shaking his head in irritation, Percy tore his eyes away from the machine and instead checked out his new surroundings, a slight smile spreading across his face as he saw it again, it was much nicer than the old shoe factory he had been living in previously.

Adjusting the rucksack on his shoulder, Percy started to move off the platform, only for him to be distract when the familiar, attractive green form of Miss Martian floated over to him, her long cape and shoulder length red hair flowing behind her as she glided through the air with ease.

"Perseus!" Miss Martian said loudly as she floated over to him, a delighted smile on her face at the sight of one of her new teammates, as well as one of the two people, and one robot, who lived at Mount Justice with her.

"Hey, Miss Martian." Percy replied easily, raising a hand in greeting as he continued on into the large chamber, the green Martian girl landing on the ground next to him, before she started to happily walk alongside him.

"You know you only have to call me that when we're on missions. Call me Megan. My real name is M'gann M'orzz but I'm trying out Megan, an earth name since, well you know, since I'm on earth now." M'gann replied with a shy smile, brushing a lock of her dark red hair behind her ear as she did so.

"Got it. Then please just call me Percy, I prefer it to Perseus, it's less formal and… well antiquated. As for on missions, well I've not made up a name yet, I'll have to think on that." Percy said with a slight shrug, as M'gann nodded along with a smile. After which Percy glanced past her, looking around the large empty cave, searching for the other living inhabitant, the Superboy clone, Superboy. "Where's Superboy by the way, I thought he was staying here too?"

"Here." Superboy spoke up as he and the ever stoic looking Aqualad walked out of another room, entering into the main chamber before heading over to the other two as they saw them, even as Percy and Megan made it into the centre.

"Oh, cool." Percy said with a brief nod to the dark haired clone, who after a brief pause gave him a nod in response, after which Percy eyed the Atlantean in amusement, before sending him a nod too, one which Aqualad returned.

"What's with the bags?" Superboy asked bluntly as the group of four came to a stop, his sharp gaze shifting from Percy's face to the rucksack on his shoulder. "I thought you'd already moved in?"

"Hmm, just needed to get the rest of my stuff from my old place?" Percy replied with a shrug, the action jostling the bag and causing the sound of clanging metal to be heard, getting a few raised eyebrows as he did so. "Just a few bits and pieces, not much."

The other three nodded at that, though Aqualad still looked quite curious as to just what Percy had in the bag.

" **Recognized: Robin, B02; Kid Flash, B04."** The Computer rang out again, cutting off anymore conversation as the zeta tube once again whirled to life as it activated, with Robin and Kid Flash, both of whom were once again in civilian clothes, like the rest of them, walking into the cave moments later.

"Did you ask him? What did he say?" Robin asked Aqualad immediately, not bothering to greet the others, as he instead jumped straight into his questioning, the boy in question having been one of the more vocal members of the team about going on missions.

Seeing this Percy shared an amused look with Megan, before he nodded to Kid Flash, getting one back right away, as well as a smile, after which the other teen moved onto greeting Megan, with much more enthusiasm, and flirtation. Obviously the sidekick was not as bothered about Percy as Robin was, the other sidekick having been quite lukewarm with him thus far. No doubt he was still a little pissy about what happened with Blockbuster.

"He's arriving now." Aqualad replied to Robin, unperturbed by the younger boy's abruptness, his stoic gaze instead shifting to the nearest entrance to the cave. "Superboy and I were just heading to meet him."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Kid Flash asked before he ran to the hangar entrance to the cave, the others following after him, even Percy, the group of them arriving just in time to see Red Tornado arrive, flying through the air a miniature tornado hiding his legs from sight.

"Red Tornado!" Kid Flash yelled as Red Tornado landed on the ground, a large grin on his face as he ran up to the humanoid android.

"Greetings. Is there a reason you have intercepted me outside of the cave?" Red Tornado replied in his metallic, robot voice, his expressionless face shifting about as his mechanical gaze roved over the assembled heroes.

"We'd hoped you have a mission for us?" Aqualad spoke up, taking the lead when he saw no one else seemed to be willing too.

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility." Red Tornado replied bluntly.

"But it's been over a week, and nothing…" Robin spoke up next, his voice pitching slightly as he allowed some of his frustration out.

"You will be tested soon enough." Red Tornado replied blandly, interrupting Robin as he did so. "For the time being, simply enjoy each other's company."

That comment didn't go down particularly well with some of the team, as Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin all scowled, sharing dark looks with each other. Whilst Superboy and Megan just looked on unperturbed for the most part.

As for Percy, he just shrugged it off, sure he wanted to see some action and start getting some experience like Diana had suggested, at the same time though he knew the importance of teamwork, after all whenever he had gone on quests he had gone in a group, a group that had always been at their best when working together towards a common cause.

"This team is not a social club." Aqualad said, once again speaking for the others, or at least the other sidekicks, if not Percy, Superboy and Megan.

"No, but I'm told social interaction is an important team building exercise. Perhaps you can keep busy by familiarising yourself with the cave." Red Tornado replied as he walked passed them and into the cave, his tone as monotone as ever.

"Keep busy." Kid Flash muttered, watching as the cloaked, red android swept past them.

"Does he think we're falling for this?" Robin chipped in mutinously.

"Oh, I'll find out." M'gann spoke up positively, after which she tried to telepathically read Red Tornado's mind, only for her to get nothing. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot, he's a machine, inorganic. I cannot read his mind." M'gann muttered a few moments later, an embarrassed expression on her face.

"Nice try, though." Kid Flash said encouragingly, a winning smile on his face. "So, uh, you know what I'm thinking right now?" The horny teen asked, wiggling his eyebrows at the attractive Martian, only to be slapped on the back by Robin.

"We all know what you're thinking Wally. Maybe Red has a point. Maybe we should just get to know each other first." Aqualad spoke up dryly, giving Kid Flash an amused look as he did so, before he looked around at the rest of the team, most of whom looked physically younger than him, substantially in Robin's case, save for Percy who looked around his own age, if not a bit older.

"Why?" Superboy asked brusquely.

"It helps with communication, it'll allow us to understand one another capabilities when it comes to strategizing and it'll build up trust, all of which is important, especially if we are going to be working together." Percy rattled off immediately, catching the attention of the rest of the team, all of them reacting differently as Superboy grunted, M'gann nodded nervously, Kid Flash and Aqualad just nodded in acceptance, whilst Robin just narrowed his eyes before he to nodded along grudgingly.

"Why don't we start with touring the cave first?" Aqualad said after a few moments, looking around to the others as he did so.

"Well, Superboy, Percy and I live here. We can play tour guides." M'gann spoke up cheerfully, floating into the air gleefully at the thought of showing off their home.

"Don't look at me." Superboy grunt.

Percy meanwhile just rolled his eyes and shrugged, not opposed to joining a tour, though first he needed to dump his stuff in his room, though calling it a bedroom would be being generous as it looked more like an armoury at present.

"We won't. A private tour sounds much more fun." Wally said, moving closer to M'gann as he did so, once again wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"She never said private." Robin cut in, rolling his eyes as he did so.

"It's team building. We'll all go." Aqualad said decisively as they walked into the cave, with Percy walking slightly ahead.

"I'll catch you up, I just need to drop some stuff off in my room." Percy spoke up, gesturing to his bag before he broke off and headed for his own room.

"Whatever." Robin muttered behind him, Batman junior clearly not as ok with Percy as the rest of the team, likely due to their less than stellar first interaction.

Percy though ignored him, if the sidekick wanted to act like a child that was up to him. He wasn't going to pander to anyone, if they wanted to be friendly then he would reciprocate, if they wanted to be shitty then he would ignore them. He didn't come to the cave to make friends, he came here to gain experience so he could join the Justice League. So he would have the facilities and reinforcements he would need to properly use his abilities to help people and bring positive change, that and hopefully bring a bit of real world logic and morality to the more idealistic members of the League.

Dropping his stuff in his room, Percy spent a few moments putting the spare gauntlets, greaves and bracers he had brought with him onto the armour racks Diana had given him, his gaze flickering over the weapons racks he had set up on the wall too, along with the shields, helmet and other bits and pieces he had brought to the cave. All of it fitting in his very generously sized room, including a new sofa, wardrobe, dresser, TV, computer and nice comfortable double bed. It was a definite improvement compared to his old digs.

Meeting back up with the group a few moments later, wearing just his jeans, boots and T-shirt, his sword and coat having been left back in his room as they weren't needed for a tour of his home, Percy was just in time to catch the end of the tour.

"This would be the front door, and this side would be the back door. The cave is actually the entire mountain." M'gann was saying as she showed the rest of the team around, including Superboy who trundled along dourly after them.

"It was originally hollowed out by Superman and Green Lantern in the early days of the League." Kid Flash tagged on, looking around the colossal chamber a smirk on his face.

"Then why abandon it for the Hall of Justice?" Superboy asked abruptly.

"The cave's secret location was compromised." Aqualad replied.

"So they traded it in for a tourist trap? Yeah. That makes sense." Superboy said.

"If villains know where the cave is then we must be on constant alert." M'gann added on, a flash of worry and concern flitting across her face.

"We're hiding in plain sight. They won't think to look for us here." Robin replied in an attempt to assuage her worries.

"Ah. That makes sense." M'gann said nodding as she did so.

Percy upon hearing that wasn't so sure, after all in his mind a hidden base was always better than 'hiding in plain sight' in a compromised one. After all it was only logical for the villains in the know to keep an eye on Justice League assets, just in case they became active again, which would also allow them to monitor some League activity. Or at least that was Percy's thoughts on the matter.

Before anything else could be said on the matter though, Superboy raised his head, his brow furrowed in confusion as he smelled something.

"I smell smoke." Superboy said.

Hearing that the rest of the group looked around curiously, only for them to be surprised when the red haired Martian let loose a sudden shout.

"My cookies!" M'gann yelled as she took to the air and flew towards the kitchen. The rest of the group following as they saw her use her telekinesis to open the oven and pull a tray of burnt cookies out of the oven. "I was trying out Grammy Jones' recipe from episode Seventeen of… heh, never mind." M'gann then continued, blushing slightly as she saw the others looking at her.

"I bet they'd have tasted great. Besides he doesn't seem to mind." Robin spoke up encouragingly, a hint of amusement in his voice as he saw Kid Flash eating one of the burnt cookies.

"I have a serious metabolism." Kid Flash replied defensively before he went back to polishing off the rest of the burnt treats.

"I'll make more." M'gann said sweetly, the bright smile back on her face as she saw that at least one person liked her food.

"It was sweet of you to make any." Aqualad spoke up, giving M'gann a slight smile as he did so.

"Thanks, Aqualad." M'gann said.

"We're off duty, so please, call me Kaldur'ahm. Actually, my friends call me Kaldur." Aqualad replied, giving a short bow of sorts to the others.

"I'm Wally." Kid Flash tagged on with a bright grin, before he looked over to Robin. "I wouldn't bother asking what Robin's name is. Bat's keeps him from revealing his name."

"Percy, just Percy, though I'm sure I'll make up some alias later." Percy shrugged, pitching in himself, even if everyone present already knew his name, a slight smile coming to his face as he pondered what alias he would actually choose. So far he was torn between 'Riptide' in honour of his old sword and its history, 'Tempest' as a nod to his origins and abilities, or maybe 'Blackjack' a more abstract one referencing his old Pegasus companion and the fact that his last name was Jackson which would also be useful as it wouldn't reveal any of his abilities. Still, they were all interesting options, he just needed to decide on one and stick with it.

"I'm Megan." M'gann said re-introducing herself to the team, ignorant of Percy's thoughts as she instead looked around, getting the nod and smiles from the others, even as Superboy walked away a scowl rather prominent on his face.

" _Don't worry, Superboy. We'll find you an earth name too."_ M'gann then continued, only telepathically this time, beaming her thoughts straight into the Kryptonian clone's mind.

"Get out of my head!" Superboy yelled in response, catching the attention of the others, all of whom had been oblivious to the exchange.

" _What's wrong? I don't understand. Everyone on Mars communicated telepathically."_ M'gann said, only this time into all of their heads, including Percy, all of whom flinched and grabbed their heads at the jarring feeling of having someone else speaking in their minds.

"Please don't do that." Percy grumbled quietly, rubbing his temple with his right hand. This was not the first time he had encountered telepathy, and so he knew he was not immune or anything, however the last few times he had had his mind messed with he hadn't even known it had happened until he was told. Though that might have been because the last few times it had been immortals and the gods subtly delving into his mind without his knowledge, even if they inferred what they had done afterwards.

"M'gann stop. Things are different on Earth. Here, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy." Aqualad spoke up next, a frown on his face even as he tried to give more context to the other's reactions, after all being an Atlantean he knew there were some big cultural differences between humans and his people, as such he could only imagine the difference was even bigger between Martians and mankind.

"And Superboy has bad experience with telepathy." Kid Flash tagged on, remembering the genomorphs in Cadmus and their control of the clone as he did so.

"I didn't mean to…" M'gann began nervously, looking around worriedly as if afraid they would all reject her now, only to be interrupted by the aggressive voice of Superboy.

"Just stay out!" Superboy told her with a snarl on his face, before he turned and walked off to a nearby couch.

"Don't be a dick, she didn't know." Percy suddenly snapped out his gaze on the clone, who in response stopped and glared at Percy. "You might be just sixteen weeks old or whatever, but you need to fucking grow up."

"What did you say?!" Superboy growled, making to march up to Percy as he did so.

Before he could though, Kaldur and Wally intercepted. "Easy there, we're all friends remember."

An awkward silence followed that as Superboy glared at Percy as if offended that Percy had called him out on his actions. Whilst Percy merely looked back coolly not at all sorry, if someone was going to act like a twat then he would call them on it, it was as simple as that. Diplomacy and politics were never his forte.

"Hello, M'gann. I know what we can do." M'gann suddenly spoke up, breaking the tense silence as the others looked over at her. Only for them to see her smiling as she floated away, gesturing for the others to follow her, which they did, though Superboy did give Percy one last look before he grunted and followed the others.

He's definitely not right in the head that one, Percy thought to himself as he eyed the clone, before he shook it off, as long as he didn't put anyone in harm then he would leave it to the League to handle, surely they were keeping track of the clone and his state of mind.

Following on from that the group took an elevator down to the mountain's hangar bay, where they then approached what looked like a giant, funky looking red and blue ball.

"It's my Martian Bioship." M'gann said in answer to the group's unasked question.

"Cute. Not aerodynamic, but cute." Kid Flash replied swiftly, still try, and failing, to flirt with the Martian.

"It's at rest, silly. I'll wake it." M'gann said, even as, likely following some telepathic command, the ship morphed into a more aerodynamic space ship, still a red and blue colour. Once again using a telepathic command, M'gann opened the ramp to the ship. That done she sent them all a bright smile. "Well, are you coming?"

Hearing the offer they all walked up the ramp and into the ship once it had finished morphing. Only to see that the interior of the ship was actually pretty spacious, the correct number of seats appearing and a control panel rising up from the ground in front of the pilot's seat as they entered.

"Strap in for launch." M'gann said as they all sat down and seatbelts wrapped around them. "Red Tornado, please open bay doors." M'gann continued, before moments later the hangar doors opened and Megan piloted the ship out of the Mountain, the ship a red and blue blur as it whizzed out of the hangar and into the sky.

For Percy this was a slightly uncomfortable experience, one which made him grip the seat of his chair quite tightly. He was never that keen on flying, save for flying on the backs of a Pegasus, call it an instinctive quirk of children of the sea but for the most part he liked to keep his feet on solid earth. That being said his nervousness was pretty justified as Zeus hated his brother's children travelling through his Domain of the Sky and had a pretty nasty attitude. More than once Zeus had proven himself more than willing to kill off one of his brother's children if they crossed him, including bringing down a bolt of lightning on them from the sky.

Pushing his nerves down as the ship flew over the mountain and the nearby town of Happy Harbour, Percy tuned out Wally's worsening attempts to flirt with Megan, Robin's nosey questions about the Bioship and Superboy's brooding. Instead he took the opportunity to look out of the window longingly at the massive ocean below them, he hadn't had a chance to head there yet, despite it now figuratively being on his doorstep.

"I may not have psychic powers, but I can guess what you're thinking. You overreacted, and you don't know how to apologise." Aqualad said quietly to Superboy, pitching his voice low as he tried to speak to the angry clone, though the voice did carry, allowing the nearby Percy to hear it too.

Not that he acknowledged this, instead he continued to look out of the window, only tuning back in when he heard Robin speak up.

"Hey, how about showing us some Martian Shape-shifting?" Robin asked loudly.

M'gann nodded at that, and smiled, unbuckling her seatbelt as she stood up. Glancing around at the rest of her team and seeing that they were all watching, M'gann sent them all another smile before she then turned into a female version of Robin, complete with the boy's caped costume. After which she then morphed into a female version of Kid Flash, both of which were… odd to say the least.

"Is it wrong that I think I'm hot?" Kid Flash asked with a chuckle from where he was seated.

"Yes, yes it is." Percy replied dryly, only to wince when Megan turned into a slim, lithe, dark haired, green eyed version of Percy, with a matching outfit to boot.

Like Kid Flash, Percy very much wanted to comment on how hot he looked as a girl, only he to pause when he realised just how creepy that would sound.

"Impressive, but you know you're not exactly gonna fool anyone with those." Robin said with a slight laugh, relaxing a bit as Megan smiled over at him, still wearing her feminine version of Percy's features.

"Mimicking boys is a lot harder." M'gann said with a shrug, glancing down at her distinctly female body.

"And your clothes?" Aqualad asked curious about how her clothing had changed with the rest of her.

"They're organic like the ship. They respond to my mental commands." M'gann replied cheerfully.

"As long as they're the only ones." Superboy grumbled audibly.

"Can you do that ghosting through walls thing that Manhunter does?" Wally asked quickly, speaking over Superboy as he saw Megan's smile fade a bit.

"Density shifting? No. I-It's a very advanced technique." M'gann replied with a nervous shrug.

"Flash can vibrate his molecules through walls," Robin spoke up, making another jab at Wally as he did so, "When Wally tries it? Bloody nose!"

"Dude!" Wally shouted, even as a couple of people laughed at the image of Wally running head first into a brick wall.

"Here's something I can do though. Camouflage mode." M'gann then said as she made the entire ship invisible.

"Cool." Percy acknowledged as he looked around at her work, now that was a nifty trick.

 **"** **Red Tornado to Team. An emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbour power plant. I suggest you investigate, covertly. I'm sending you the coordinates."** Red Tornado's voice suddenly rang out from one of the sidekick's communicators, drawing an end to the conversation as everyone listened in.

"Aqualad to Red Tornado. Coordinates received and investigating." Aqualad responded curtly before looking around at the rest of the team.

"Adjusting trajectory." M'gann acknowledged, once again mentally controlling her ship as she did so.

"Red Tornado's keeping us busy again." Robin scoffed, the younger boy being the first one to speak, even if what he said was slightly petulant.

"Well a fire led you to Superboy. We should at least find out what caused the alert." M'gann said positively.

"I think I know the cause." Superboy replied brusquely, as the ship shot towards the warehouses at the port and they all saw a large tornado whirling around in the power plant parking lot.

"Hn, a storm, how about that." Percy mused dryly, before he once again tightly gripped the arms of his chair when the ship was caught up in the tornado, the entire vessel shuddering and jostling about as it tried to fight its way out. Fortunately after a few moments of struggle M'gann steadied it and landed it in the parking lot some distance from the tornado.

Following on from which the team quickly got out, only to see the few people still around running for cover as the tornado continued along its path and hit the power plant.

"Robin, are tornadoes common in New England?" Aqualad asked, only to speak to empty air as by the time he turned around Robin had disappeared. The only sign of being a slight echoing laugh as they looked around.

"He was just here." M'gann said in confusion.

"Little shit." Percy tagged on, genuinely surprised as he thought that the Boy Wonder would at least understand working with others, after all wasn't he part of the Bat family with Batman and Batgirl. One would think that would at least instil some discipline in regards to assessing the situation, making as plan and then acting as one cohesive unit.

"I hate it when he does that. Come on." Wally West interrupted, ignoring Percy's acerbic comment as he instead ran towards the building, disappearing in a blur. The rest of them following his lead.

Damn it, I should have brought my sword, Percy grumbled to himself, even as he too followed the others lead, his gaze fixed on the tornado as he pondered whether he could stop it, after all his father's Domain of Storms was the one he knew the least about, and had the least practice with.

 **( - )**

 **(A few moments later)**

Almost immediately upon entering the power plant they were thrown back against the far wall by violent gusts of wind, all five of them completely taken off-guard by the strength of the wind and the suddenness of the attack. A rookie mistake for all involved.

Grunting as he hit the wall, Percy scowled as he forced himself to his feet and massaged his right shoulder, the blast of wind had caught him by surprise and his lack of armour and protection had meant his landing had been more painful that he had expected.

Still he was not badly injured. Looking up he could see the rest of the team, including the newly reappeared Robin, were getting up too, all of them looking over at their attacker. Their attacker who appeared to be a person in a suit of high-tech red armour which had tubes of blue liquid pumping through its shoulders, and ragged material wrapped like a scarf around its head and neck.

"Who's your new friend?" Superboy asked Robin as he helped the impetuous boy to his feet. The rest of the team getting up too, even as powerful winds continued to buffet them.

"Didn't catch his name!" Robin replied rubbing his aching shoulder, "But he plays kind of rough!"

Percy rolled his eyes at that, always with the quips, even as he began to shift away, edging around the large suited villain, looking for an opening. His sea green eyes flicking around as he looked for anything he could use, so far he had the earth and his vibrational waves, as well as the moisture in the coastal air. He had a lot of stuff he could use, but before he did he needed to know the villain's capabilities, he wasn't just about to rush in against an unknown.

"My apologies," Said the villain in a synthesized voice, "You may refer to me as Mr. Twister."

"Damn that is a bad alias, even waterboy and speedy is better," Percy chuckled ignoring the 'hey' from Wally and Kaldur's disapproving look, yeah he could make quips too. The others however ignored him as they instead leapt into action.

Mr. Twister also ignored him, as he instead formed twin tornados in his hands and sent them spinning at a charging Superboy. The twin cyclones succeeding in sending the young clone flying backwards into and then through a wall.

Likewise both Kaldur and M'gann were blown away when they approached, with Kid Flash just running circuits around the villain, his body a blur as he, like Percy, looked for an opening. Whilst he was doing this Robin also acted, flinging several explosive projectiles at the villain, only to have them blow back at him by Mr Twister's twisters.

"We need a plan." Percy mused out loud as he continued to edge around the circumference of the villain's range, even now he was attempting to reach out and control the wind. Only to be met with a distinct lack of success, it was like trying to catch the wind, literally, it kept slipping through his grasp, so different to the fluid nature of water and the solid nature of earth. Wind, it was much more insubstantial.

"Well we're listening if you've got one!" Kid Flash shouted, before he darted in, going for a straight forward charge, hoping to speed through the whirling, swirling wind around Mr Twister.

He didn't succeed, in fact he was sent flying backwards and crashing into the wall besides Percy, the air leaving his lungs with a grunt and a groan.

Percy glanced sideways at this, before he turned and gave up on trying to tame the tornado for the moment, he needed more practice on that front if he were to succeed in usurping another person's control.

Instead he thrust his hand forward, drawing upon the seismic energy from the earth, making the ground below him crack as he absorbed the vibrational energy from the ever vibrating earth, only for him to then project it though the palm of his hand. The seismic wave almost visible as it exploded through the air, and struck the red and blue clad villain, the wave only getting slightly distorted by the wind, not enough to stop it from lifting Mr Twister up and sending him crashing into the power plant wall.

"Get it together you lot, I thought you were supposed to be experienced." Percy then said to the rest, after which he rushed towards the enemy, his hands trailing behind him, collecting the moisture in the air around his hands as he did so, before with a swipe he sent two slashes of water through the air, both of them striking Mr Twister in the chest as he tried to stand, carving an inch deep, X shaped gash into his armour.

"Nice." Robin acknowledged, before he flung three 'birdarangs' at the villain, all three of them exploding in mid-air just ahead of him, the concussive blast once again blowing Mr Twister backwards against the already damaged outer wall of the power plant.

"Keep up the attack, don't let him recover enough to create another twister! Try to disable his armour!" Kaldur shouted, even as he rushed the villain, his tattoos glowing and his water bearers forming two watery hammers as he smashed the first one into the villain's torso and the other into his knee, both blows knocking the villain down and sending him back into the wall, even as Wally zipped in, behind the villain and knocked his other leg out from under him, sending the red and blue clad villain falling back to the ground with a crash.

"Out of the way!" Percy grunted, before he slammed his right foot on the ground, seizing control of the earth with his implacable will, the concrete below him cracking in a line all the way up to the downed villain, after which an eight foot spike of earth erupted from the ground, hitting Mr Twister a glancing blow, cracking the armour on his shoulder, as he attempted to dodge.

The action saving him from being impaled by the spike, but not from being smashed completely through the wall and into the parking lot behind him, his now battle scarred, armoured body rolling several times, before he struggled to get back onto his feet.

"Dude, stop with the lethal attacks!" Kid Flash shouted, even as Robin, Aqualad, Superboy and M'gann rushed outside, keeping up the assault. The team working as a cohesive unit, even if it was just for a few brief moments.

"That wasn't lethal." Percy replied glibly as he headed outside too, "I was only aiming for a bit of slight maiming."

By the time the two of them got outside, they were in time to see Superboy throwing two cars at Mr Twister, only for the villain to create a massive tornado around himself, far bigger than the one before, rising into the air as he did so, fifteen metres or so above cracked, tarmacked car park, catching the cars in it, before he sent them flying back at the sidekicks. One of the cars forcing Aqualad and Robin to dive out of the way as it smashed into the ground, whilst the other hit Superboy head on, only for the boy to catch it with a grunt, stepping back a few steps, before he turned and threw it to one side.

"This is getting too drawn out." Percy grumbled, reaching out as he did so to draw in more of the moisture from the air, once again coating his hands in water, only this time he formed his hands into pistol grips and started firing off highly condensed bullets of water from his hand, with him adding extra propulsion to each bullet as he drew on his limited Aerokinetic abilities. Each one of the bullets shooting through the twister due to their compact size and speed.

That being said they caused only limited damage as they mostly just glanced off of the armour, probably no more painful for the villain than punches from a normal human. Still each one jostled him, and would hopefully distract him enough to disrupt the ever growing cyclone. After all with him now flying he was out of range of Percy's earthen attacks.

"This isn't working!" Kid Flash shouted a few moments later as he was sent hurtling out of the tornado, the boy in question having attempted to stop it by running rapidly in the other direction, only for it to have proven too strong.

"Have you tried talking to him?!" Kaldur shouted, looking to Robin who was the first to engage the villain. "If we find out what he wants, we could possibly talk him down."

Only for Robin to give him a dismissive look, as he instead hurled some more projectiles, each one getting caught by the debris and cars the now massive tornado was picking up, and none of them getting even close to the villain himself.

"Take that as a no." Percy answered for Robin, scowling as he too couldn't get his water bullets through the debris and powerful winds anymore either, with him instead sending out another seismic wave, the vibrational energy bursting through the air and striking the tornado, clearing some of the debris, and showering the villains with pieces of asphalt and wrecked cars, but little more than that. "Besides I think it might be a little late now."

"What do you want?" Kaldur shouted a few moments later, electricity crackling up and down his arms in readiness to defend himself as he tried to get the villains attention, only to be ignored/ unheard as the tornado by now was almost deafening.

"M'gann, read his mind!" Kaldur shouted to the Martian, who by that point was staying back in support, occasionally using her telekinesis to protect the team or to pull out the large bits and pieces of debris from the tornado, even as Superboy continued to fling things in.

Suffice to say they still needed to work on their teamwork, for a moment when things had been going well they had been working well together. Now things had become more complicated, not so much.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to do that!" M'gann replied floating closer to Aqualad to be heard over the raging winds.

"It's okay when it's the bad guys!" Robin shouted back to the girl, as Percy moved closer to the tornado, sending waves of vibrational energy at the tornado from both hands as he did so, all in an attempt to disrupt it and bombard the villain within with the accumulated debris. "Now hurry!"

"Superboy, get back, you too Kid Flash." Aqualad shouted, with Kid Flash darting to where the others were, even as Superboy growled and threw the car he was holding to one side.

M'gann though ignored this, as she instead focused for a second on breaching the villain's mind, only to open her eyes in surprise a few moments later.

"Nothing! I'm getting nothing!" M'gann said to the rest of the team, "Of course! Hello Megan! Mr. Twister is Red Tornado in disguise!"

Everyone stared at her as she said that, even Percy, who by then had begun backing off due to his lack of success, his brow furrowed as he tried to come up with an alternate plan to take this airborne villain down. So far all he could think of was either trying to get the earth up that high, or creating a counter tornado around himself, but even then he wasn't sure he could create one as powerful as the one Mr Twister was currently using, not without more practice anyway, and certainly not one strong enough to fully counter the colossal one Mr Twister was using to defend himself.

"Think about it," M'gann explained, turning to the others to explain, "He's inorganic, and an android! And how many androids do you know that can generate tornados?"

"Red Tornado sent us here," Kaldur muttered carefully.

"After saying we'd be tested soon," Robin tagged on angrily, "This is his test! Something to keep us busy!"

"Speedy called it!" Wally added on as well, his own brow furrowed in irritation, "We're a joke."

Kaldur pounded his fist into his hand in anger. "This game is over!"

"Don't jump to conclusion because of your own insecurities," Percy, growled to the others as he got close enough to hear what they were saying, his brow still furrowed as he then headed forward again and began to draw on the air around him, using the moisture in the air to create the beginning of his own cyclone. After all if he couldn't seize control of Mr Twister's tornado, or overwhelm it with one of his own, he might be able to at least bleed away some of the energy with his own counter one, even if he couldn't do it completely.

"What?" Robin growled, his ire rising, only to be ignored.

Instead Percy headed forwards once more, the air around him swirling into a storm of his own making, one which spread out, lapping against Mr Twister's, the two tempest's swirling counter to one another, weakening both, though Percy's more so.

"Take advantage of the opening!" Percy growled loudly, shouting to be heard, his face intense and his green eyes practically glowing as he tried to maintain the storm, in spite of Mr Twister's tornado overwhelming it.

"What's the point, why play into their hands." Robin shot back snarkily, not moving to attack. Though he did narrow his eyes as Percy reveal yet another ability, the older teen seemed to have a growing list of skills and powers.

Superboy though did act, as he grabbed a nearby, overturned car that was gradually being drawn towards the tornado, and hurled it at Mr Twister's flying figure, the car smashing through the wall of wind and glancing off of the villain's shoulder, knocking him backwards, which in turn made him lessen his storm.

This was good at by that point Percy was running on fumes, creating a storm was not easy, especially when he was overcoming his lack of refined control with brute power.

"You hear that Red Tornado, it's over, we're not playing your game!" Kid Flash added in, shouting as he made himself heard over the dispersing storm. The red head standing alongside the unimpressed Kaldur and Robin as they glared up at the still airborne villain.

"You think I'm Tornado?" Twister laughed recovered from the glancing blow now, before he raised his hand and rapidly summoned dark black clouds over head, "Ironic."

"Oh shit." Percy groaned tiredly looking up at the dark clouds, already predicting what was about to happen.

Before Percy, or any of the other sidekicks could do more than look up, Tornado brought down a massive lightning bolt from the sky, one that struck the ground at their feet with explosive force, sending them all flying backwards.

For Percy it was like being hit with one of Thalia's bolts of lightning, only times by ten, as this was not meant to be a painful, but playful zap. No, this was meant to cause maximum damage.

Groaning with discomfort and tiredness, Percy pushed himself up to his feet, just in time to see Superboy try one last charge at Twister, only to be thrown backwards by a second lightning bolt that struck the Kryptonian clone in the chest and sent him hurtling into the ground with a loud crash!

Growling as he stood up and glared at the flying villain, Percy once again began to gather some seismic energy, if this being was truly an inorganic, or at least going off of what Miss Martian had said, then he was going to try and shatter it, or at least crumble it. He just needed to get in arms range, enough to get a hand on it so he could unleash a full blast of vibrational energy into his body. That would get through its armour.

"Fine," Twister said rising higher into the air, his armour now quite damaged, but still serviceable, "I won't deny you children have power, but playing hide-and-seek with you will not help me achieve my objectives, of fighting a real hero, like Red Tornado, so stay concealed for all I care. But know that if you fight me again, I will show no mercy." With that said he then turned flew off into the sky, vanishing from sight.

"What just happened?" Wally asked as he sat up, ignoring the way Percy sagged slightly, wiping some blood that was dripping down his face from a cut above his eyes.

"I put the Bioship between us," M'gann explained, standing up. "It was cloaked and so it hid us from view."

Superboy growled at that, before he hit the ground in anger. "And that's supposed to make it right? You tricked us into believing that was Red Tornado!"

"Calm down, Superboy," Aqualad said calmly getting up himself as he checked on the state of the rest of the team, "It was a rookie mistake. We all make them. It's fine."

"That's true enough." Percy growled from one side, releasing the energy he had gathered as he instead used his own sweat to seal up the wound on his forehead before he flicked the bloody sweat onto the ground after the job was done. "I made an opening, we had him. If one of you had just gotten off your arses and done something we'd have taken him down."

"Us! No what's not fine is you jumping into the fray alone like that without telling us the rest of the plan," Robin spoke up aggressively. "We had no idea what you were doing, or what you can do. Instead you just acted and expected us all to do the same. Communication is key to team work."

If looks could kill then Robin would have been dead ten times over as Percy glared at him, his sea green eyes boring into the younger boy, making him step backwards. "Listen here you jumped up little shit. You are the one that went running in with no plan, disappearing without a word, and engaging the enemy without even knowing his full capabilities! You need to grow the fuck up or hang up or your cape and tights!"

"Woah dude let's all calm down yeah, mistakes were made but we're all fine!" Wally said trying to calm things down as he saw the furious look on Superboy and Percy's face, the petulant look on Robin's and the upset look on M'gann's.

"Wally is right, mistakes were made by all of us, and that's because we are still trying to get used to fighting together. But going forwards, at least for now, I think it is best if you head back to the base M'gann, you're too inexperienced at the moment, and I don't want you getting hurt or in the way." Kaldur spoke up next, trying to give M'gann a kindly look as he did so.

"Stay out of our way," Superboy muttered added on angrily, before he made to walk off in the direction Twister had gone, Wally and Robin quickly heading after him.

"Prick." Percy said, making sure that Superboy heard him as he did so. "Come with us M'gann, after all how else are you supposed to get experience? The others are young, and arrogant, they think they know better, but that's only because they are just as inexperienced as you."

"You got something to say!?" Superboy snapped, turning on his heel and heading for Percy now. Kid Flash looking on with resignation, whilst Robin just looked angered and offended by Percy's words.

"Nothing you haven't heard before. You need to grow up and stop acting like a petulant little baby." Percy retorted, ignoring Superboy's scowl as he instead brushed past him. "Until you curb your arrogance and learn how to curb your temper you're a liability."

Superboy glowered at Percy as he heard that, but said nothing more as he instead turned and headed for where Twister ran, Wally looking between the two angry powered individuals awkwardly as he followed after them, with the scowling Robin bringing up the rear.

"I was just trying to be part of the team," M'gann said sadly as she saw the others heading off, she appreciated Percy's words, but even so the words of Superboy and Kaldur had been pretty cutting.

"To be honest," Kaldur said from beside Megan looking at the retreating backs of he others, "I'm not sure we really have a team. But Perseus did have a point, I was wrong in the way I treated you."

"No…" M'gann began to protest.

"Yes, I said you are inexperienced, which you are. But I also denied you a chance to get the experience you need. You should come with us and act in support." Kaldur continued on. "I only hope our lack of team work doesn't stop us from achieving victory."

 **( - )**

 **(A few minutes later)**

Running for the docks, the team were just in time to catch Twister as he started creating even more tornados, causing yet more damage. All in order to complete his stated objective of drawing Red Tornado out.

"Kid Flash get any bystanders out of the way." Percy said loudly as they headed for Twister. "Minimising civilian causalities is our primary mission here."

"Right," Wally nodded, opening his mouth to protest for the moment before he swallowed it as he acknowledged Percy's words.

"Miss Martian we need a distraction, can you shapeshift into a member of the League, preferably the one he's after, Red Tornado, and then try and draw Twister closer to the ocean." Percy stated next, looking to the green Martian as he did so, who just nodded before flying off to do as he said, turning into the familiar figure of Red Tornado as she flew high into the air.

"Superboy, Robin help M'gann in drawing Twister away from the docks and closer to the sea. Be innovative." Percy said bluntly, ignoring Superboy's mutinous look and Robin's sneer. "Just do it!"

Despite that though both of them grudgingly nodded at his words, before they ran for Twister, both shouting at the villain and trying to draw him away in their own way as they did so.

"Aqualad you're with me, we're heading into the ocean, once the others get Twister close enough we'll act." Percy continued, he was beyond caring now, if no one else was going to step up and take the lead then he would.

Previously he had taken a back seat, he just letting things happen. That was wrong, there were too many strong and loud personalities on the team, and without someone taking charge there would be chaos.

"Right." Aqualad nodded, before the two of them ran for the coast, both of them leaping into the sea at the same time.

Almost immediately the moment he entered the bring waters, Percy felt rejuvenated by the ocean water infusing his body with strength, washing away his aches and pains. He had truly missed this feeling.

Smiling at the feeling, Percy pushed his arms forwards and shot through the water like a torpedo, Aqualad struggling to keep up as the two whizzed further down the coast, both of them keeping an eye on what was going on above the waterline.

With them easily seeing the now transformed M'gann leading Mr Twister to the coast, even as Superboy and Robin hassled him.

"On five." Percy said underwater, his voice easily heard by Aqualad, much to his surprise, as he raised his hand in the water as the figure of Twister got closer and closer, with him then beginning to count down from five, looking across at Aqualad as he did, both of them easily breathing in the water. "We attack as one, we go fast and give him no chance to recover."

"As you say." Aqualad nodded, pushing aside his confusion over how Percy could talk underwater as he did so, though it would be something he would ask him later. It was going to be one of the many things they all needed to talk about if they were to make this thing team work.

A few moments later as they saw Mr Twister moving overhead, now completely over the sea as he threw bolts of lightning at who he thought as Red Tornado, the two red androids darting about above the sea, the transformed M'gann retreating and dodging, whilst Mr Twister attacked.

"They're still too far overhead." Kaldur muttered to Percy, both of them floating just below the surface and looking up.

"Not for me." Percy replied, before without another word he seized control of all of the surrounding water, lifting it up as he and the sea rapidly rose, the water around him solidifying in a body like shape, with both arms, legs and a formless head.

For those not within the sea it was like witnessing a leviathan emerging from the depths, as the first they saw was a hand erupting from the rough water, the hand shooting up and grabbing Mr Twister, taking the android by surprise, even as Megan turned back to her normal form and flew back to the coast, quickly retreating when she saw the sea bubble even as another hand erupted forth, this one joining the first in holding tightly onto Mr Twister.

Following on from that an entire rapidly torso emerged from the sea, one made entirely of solidified and condensed sea water, and containing Percy where the heart would be, his sea green eyes glowing brightly as he continued to manipulate the water.

"Aqualad!" Robin said as the white haired Atlantean flew out of the ocean, jogging a little due to the momentum, before he joined, Robin, Superboy, M'gann and the newly arrived Kid Flash as they watched Percy.

"Robin, well done, you too M'gann and Superboy." Aqualad acknowledged, turning to those he named before he looked back to Percy, watching as the watery goliath tore the legs and arms off of the struggling Mr Twister, the red and blue android completely at Percy's mercy now they were above the sea. "You as well Kid Flash, thanks for evacuating the docks."

"Woah, did you know he could do that?" Kid Flash asked, ignoring Aqualad's thanks as he instead saw Percy tear off the android limbs and then launch the torso and head ashore, where it landed with a loud crash, and a spray of concrete and broken robot parts.

"I don't think any of us know what he can really do. He's not like Superboy or M'gann, both of whom have abilities that are mostly well known due to both Superman and Martian Manhunter." Aqualad replied simply. "Though I do ponder whether Perseus has Atlantean blood, his abilities are similar to Atlantean Sorcery, only he has not got any noticeable tattoos. In fact his abilities are quite similar to my King's, so he could have royal blood in his veins. Though my King has not mentioned anything, and I know of no other royal bastards…"

Wally resisted rolling his eyes at the mention of magic, instead he just shook his head. "What about the tornado he created or the way he can control the earth? That doesn't sound like it would be in an Atlantean's skillset"

"Maybe a Metahuman Atlantean half-blood," Robin asked, his previous petulance gone as he saw Percy leaving the ocean, his clothing all bone dry despite him having just been completely submerged.

"Whatever, let's just deal with Twister." Superboy growled, scowling at Percy and saying nothing of his feat, as he instead headed to where the sparking and mangled remains of Twister was, the torso soaking wet and ruptured in several places now, all of which revealed a distinctly human looking figure inside the broken armoured suit, one that seemed to be trying to control the all but destroyed robot.

"Sup." Percy said as he approached the group, nodding to Aqualad as he did so. "Sorry about taking over, but I thought the sooner we beat the villain the better."

"It's fine, you made the right call." Aqualad nodded, "We do not do this for fame or recognition. No, we do it to get results, and that is what you did."

Percy nodded at that, still feeling a little guilty about how he had pretty much taken control and started ordering the others around. Then again the team's dynamic was terrible, there were a lot of strong personalities many of which were clashing. As well as that there was an existing dynamic between three of the team, one which somewhat alienated the other three.

Quite frankly they were a bit of a mess at the moment, which is why he had decided to take a lead role, in spite of his reluctance. Of course he knew that he was also as much a problem as some of the others, he had allowed his temper to flare which had meant he had gotten in an argument with Superboy and Robin.

Suffice to say they had a lot of work to do before they became a proper team.

A few moments later the team gathered around what remained of Mr Twister as what remained of the torso opened up and the skinny, frail looking man inside clambered out of the armour.

"F-foul!" The skinny, frightened looking man in the armour gasped out as he stumbled forward, before he fell on the ground, his finger pointed shakily at the group of six heroes. "I-I call foul!"

M'gann narrowed her eyes as she saw this, before a few moments later she used her telekinesis to rip up a large piece of Earth.

"M'gann!" cried Kaldur, his eyes widening as he realized what she was about to do, "No!"

All around the rest of the team reacted similarly, Kid Flash and Robin looking on in horror. Superboy just looking confused and surprised. Even Percy cocked an eyebrow in surprise, he hadn't thought the sweet, kindly Martian had it in her, nor did he think this villain deserved death, not now he knew it was an actual man and not a robot like he had earlier assumed. After all this man hadn't killed anybody, that they knew of, or experimented on, or really hurt anybody seriously, no, all he deserved was a bit of roughing up and a long stint in prison for property damage and assault.

But it was too late though, before anybody could stop her she brought down the rock hard on the old man, crushing him underneath with a loud crunching sound.

For a moment, the whole team was silent, eyes moving back and forth between M'gann and the rock, all of them shocked.

"I don't know how things work on Mars," Robin said slowly, his voice filled with barely restrained anger, "But on Earth, we don't execute our captives!"

Kid Flash sent Percy an awkward look at that.

"Not unless necessary anyway," Percy chipped in, ignoring Wally's face palm and the surprisingly the twitch of Superboy's lips as he apparently held back a smile, his current dislike of Percy warring with his amusement over the comment.

"We don't kill!" Robin shouted, his narrowed eyes flicking irritably over to Percy now, before going back to M'gann.

"You really should trust me," M'gann replied unconcernedly with a smirk, bolstered by the fact that at least none of the others had shouted at her, or condemned her actions at first glance. After which she lifted up the rock and revealed that the robot's pilot was just in fact just an android, one made of gears and cogs.

"That's why I couldn't read his mind," M'gann then explained as Wally grabbed a semi-crushed mechanical eye ball from the remains. "It's because he was an android."

"Cool. A souvenir," Wally said cheerfully, before he pocketed the eye ball and glanced around at the others, all of whom were watching him. "What?"

"Nothing wrong with taking a trophy." Percy shrugged after a few moments, a slight smile on his face.

 **( - )**

 **(Some time later, back at Mount Justice)**

It was later that day that the entire team were all assembled in the main hall of the Cave, all of them standing around as they debriefed Red Tornado on what had happened and the villain's objective. The remaining, crushed parts of the android were all currently laid out before them and Red Tornado, with both Wally and Robin the most technical of the group looking over them.

"It's almost like it was built specifically to fight you," Kaldur observed from where he was standing, his arms folded and an intense look on his face.

"Indeed," Red Tornado added, his robotic eyes scanning over the remains before swivelling back to the team.

"Is that why you sent us to investigate and confront the villain, as oppose to going yourself?" M'gann asked, her brow furrowed as she looked up at the large, red androids visage.

"No," Red Tornado said simply, "I was not aware that there was a villain there, and even if I was I would not have interfered. This was your fight. I do not believe it is my roll to solve your problems. Nor is it your roll to solve mine."

Percy nodded at that, he understood what the Red Android was talking about. You had to let people make their own mistakes, and have their own experiences, otherwise they would never grow. That had been Chiron's approach, and he was the greatest teacher of Heroes to have ever existed.

"But if you're in danger," M'gann said, "Then…"

"Consider this matter closed," Red Tornado shot her down bluntly turning away as he did so, walking away down a hallway.

"Batman, Aquaman, and Flash," Wally muttered, "They'd have jumped right in to fix things."

"I guess if we're going to have a babysitter," Robin tagged on, "A heartless machine is exactly what we need."

"Dude!" Wally hissed, "Harsh!"

"And inaccurate," Red Tornado called back, "I have a heart. Carbon-steel alloy. I also have excellent hearing."

"Right," said a flustered Robin, sending the other amused heroes an awkward look. "Sorry… I'll try to, ah, be more… accurate in the future."

"And more respectful," Kaldur tagged on, his blue eyes flicking to the younger boy as he did so, the boy in question, despite his airs, running his mouth almost as much as Kid Flash did.

"See that you do," said Red Tornado, before he once again turned and walked away.

"Speedy was so wrong about this," Wally smiled as he headed away from the other and towards the kitchen.

"This team thing might just work out," Robin agreed, enthused with their recent success as he, Superboy and M'gann followed.

"Maybe," Percy muttered, still a little leery on the dynamics.

"Indeed," Kaldur added, the two of them sharing a look, both more than aware that there was still a lot more that needed to be done and said before they could call themselves a team.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what did you all think? This chapter ended up being a lot more complicated to write than I thought it would. It was actually pretty difficult writing the new team's dynamics and the relationships between the characters, which as you no doubt gathered are not totally harmonious.**

 **For crossovers I am always of the opinion that a new character should make changes, both positive and negative to the storyline, which is in my plot for this story.**

 **This is especially so when introducing a unique character like Percy into the Young Justice team, after all he has more experience than Robin, is older and more authoritative than Aqualad, has a more versatile set of skills than Megan, and has more raw power than Superboy. He pretty much trumps each of the individual characters at the keys things that define their character, or at least at this stage.**

 **This of course creates a lot of friction, like in canon Robin was the one who thought himself better than the others due to him having been crime fighting since he was nine, so for four years, longer than any of the others. Yep in this Percy has more experience, and is older. Same thing for the others, which makes writing reactions and the way their characters developing with such a unique character like Percy in the mix quite difficult. After all Percy's presence could bring about either positive changes or negative ones.**

 **The same could be said for Percy as he will develop differently, and has his own character flaws like the rest of them, as this chapter hopefully showed. None of the characters are perfect, and all of them will act and react in different ways to how they did in canon due to Percy's presence.**

 **So yeah sorry about that rant of sorts, it's just this chapter was a pain to write and even now I am worried about whether I could have done some of the interactions better.**

 **Still other than that I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, there was actions, drama, all it was missing was romance. And on that note as I said last chapter I do have one or two pairings I am angling for (fish pun), if the story develops how I want it too. So if you really want to know ask and I will tell, that beings said I am not confirming anything yet.**

 **Hope you enjoyed and leave a nice long review.**

 **See you all later.**

 **Greed720.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: So here we are with the next update, I hope you all enjoy it. So far the reaction to the story has been good, there have of course been a few critical reviews, but they were polite and made valid points, so thanks for that. Some of those points I have taken into account going forwards, others I have thought about and dismissed as a none concern.**

 **Still I hope you all continue to read and enjoy the story, and keep leaving reviews as I love to hear from you.**

 **Also if you have some spare time I hope you try out some of my other stories, there is a whole variety of them some of which I hope you will enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the DC universe.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"Right," said a flustered Robin, sending the other amused heroes an awkward look. "Sorry… I'll try to, ah, be more… accurate in the future."_

 _"And more respectful," Kaldur tagged on, his blue eyes flicking to the younger boy as he did so, the boy in question, despite his airs, running his mouth almost as much as Kid Flash did._

 _"See that you do," said Red Tornado, before he once again turned and walked away._

 _"Speedy was so wrong about this," Wally smiled as he headed away from the other and towards the kitchen._

 _"This team thing might just work out," Robin agreed, enthused with their recent success as he, Superboy and M'gann followed._

 _"_ _Maybe," Percy muttered, still a little leery on the dynamics._

 _"_ _Indeed," Kaldur added, the two of them sharing a look, both more than aware that there was still a lot more that needed to be done and said before they could call themselves a team._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 6**

 **( - )**

 **(With Percy, in Mount Justice)**

Holding his Drakon bone sword tightly in his right hand Percy casually swung it slowly through the air with practiced ease, his eyes closed as he focused on moving his feet in time with his sword as he glided across the floor.

To those that were watching it would appear he was almost dancing as he swept across the floor, his footing perfect as he swung his blade high in an overhead swing, before he twisted it into a vertical side parry, twirling the blade through his hands as he then finished with a low sweeping slash, which moments later was again turned into a high slash in the opposite direction.

These were drills that he had put together himself, based on the idea of patterns or katas that are done in martial arts. They are set movements that flow into one another, building muscle memory for basic techniques which you could build off of to go into a more varied and complicated set of attacks and strikes.

His every movement he made was methodical and economic, there was no wasted step or swing as he danced forwards, feeling his way through the air, not through sight or sound, but through the water particles in the air. This was a way of not only training his swordsmanship but also his control over water, plus it gave him an extra sensory ability, one that very few could block.

Spinning on his heel, Percy shot forwards once more, increasing his pace as he tried to balance speed with technique, trying to enter the zone so to speak, one which involved absolute awareness of both himself and his surroundings.

But it was as he was doing this though, sinking into the familiar rhythm and motions of his sword dance, that he found his mind beginning to wander.

Already he could see flashes of memories flickering through his mind as he moved, his slashes and jabs getting faster and faster, more aggressive and ferocious by the second.

He could see the red, pulsating sky of Tartarus, and the bloated boil like protrusion that erupted from the ground, each one birthing new monsters. He could taste the acrid, acidic air swirling through his lungs, and could feel the gnawing, burning sensation of the air as it flowed over his skin. Already he could feel the familiar icy claw of madness clawing at his psyche as it had when he first beheld what Tartarus truly was, not just a place, but a living, breathing organism.

Percy's grip on his blade tightened at that, his pulse quickening and his control of his abilities intensifying as he did so. The air around him feeling hotter and wetter as he subconsciously began to raise the temperature and humidity. Unknown to him the air around him continued to become thicker and hotter, even as condensation began to settle on all the surfaces around him. A mist like steam beginning to swirl through the air to, increasing in strength and density with every one of Percy's breathes.

In his mind he could see the snarling and enraged faces of monsters, monster he had killed once, twice, thrice, no more than that far more for some, for in Tartarus they always came back to life no matter how he killed them, save of course for if he pitched them off the edge and into the chaos void below, there was no returning form that.

Not that he had much of an opportunity to do such a thing as they tended to veer away from the edges. So yes, no matter how many times he killed them they always came back, and they always hunted him. After all for some of them he was the only living Demigod in the Pit, and as such the only prey for them to satisfy their hunger.

Percy's lips curled upwards into a snarl at that thought, the ground below him beginning to quake now, even as the metal around below began to warp, buckle and in places melt as the steam and condensation became like boiling acid.

He didn't notice this though. Instead he continued to delve into his memories. Already he could see the monsters he had fought and killed flashing by in a blur. But similarly he could see the monsters he had eventually befriend whilst in the Pit, either because they tired of killing one another, or because they saw an opportunity to distract themselves from the endless torment of Tartarus. After all even monsters and evil doers needed companionship sometimes.

There was the hauntingly beautiful woman with snakes for hair. Then there was the powerful and fiercely intelligent Titaness with curly, black hair, golden coloured skin and eyes like molten silver. Then finally there was a breath taking grey skinned, golden eyed goddess with waist length, midnight black hair, sharp fangs and a pair of large, black feathered wings.

Sliding his feet across the floor, Percy internally frowned when he realised he was now bare footed for some reason, and also seemed to be walking through some kind of thick mud.

The frown only lasted for a moment though before he shook it off and decided to adapt to these changes. Slowing his movements and adjusting his footing he took up a defensive stance, his footwork still perfectly in sync with his blade work as he switched from sweeping slashes and deadly fast jabs to strong, firm parries and rapid counterattacking thrusts, using both the blade, the spiked, bone cross guard and finally the spiked pommel as well now.

"Percy!" A voice called out to him, as if form very far away.

Percy frowned as he heard that, his mind still fixed in his memories as he saw another face, though seeing it made his gut twist and heart clench. This face was very pale and gaunt, so much so that she looked almost as if she were dead, with a halo of curly, golden coloured hair that had been tied back in a ponytail. More than that though this was a face he knew well, one that he knew usually looked at him with exasperated fondness, only now it was twisted into an expression of fear.

"Percy!" The voice called again.

"Annabeth." Percy muttered, his grip on his sword tightening even more as he saw the scared look on her face as she backed away, looking at him in fear as he reached out to her, trying to pull her back to safety as he did so. Even now he could see her walking backwards to the edge of the Pit. He could see her backing away, just as he could see that she wasn't looking where she was going, her fearful grey eyes instead fixed on him. She was still backing away, still calling his name, she was about to fall.

"PERCY!" The voice now bellowed, sounding out both audibly and mentally as he suddenly released his grip on his sword allowing it to fall to the ground with a wet splat, even as he clasped both hands to his ears as he felt as if his head was trying to split itself open.

"Percy!" The familiar voice shouted again, only now it was not ringing in his head and he could actually hear it, hear the concern and the worry in it.

"What?!" Percy finally snapped in response, opening his eyes now only to freeze as he looked around at his surroundings.

The training room was a complete mess, the metal floor was little more than bubbling, dirty grey sludge. All of the computers and other technical doodads on the side were sparking and partially melted. On top of that he could see fallen pieces of rock that looked to have fallen down from the mountainous roof overhead.

"Megan?" Percy asked as he twisted round in confusion, frowning as he felt a sudden breeze on his body, even as he looked over to the concerned and nervous looking green Martian that was floating in the air a few metres away from him at the edge of the room, her soft brown eyes wide as she looked around at the state of the room, before she then locked onto him.

"Percy you're finally back." Megan finally replied, the worry and fear sliding off her face as it was almost instantly replaced with relief. Though only for a moment because as he turned to face her a sheepish look on his face, her own face went bright red even as her hands leapt up to cover her eyes. Though he could still see a glimmer of her hazel eyes through her slightly spread fingers. "And you're naked."

"Naked?" Percy queried, his voice a bit raspy now as the acrid fumes from the melted metal floor swirled up into his nostrils and mouth.

Raising his hand Percy concentrated for a moment, seizing control of all the moisture in the area as he did so, before with a grunted he rapidly cooled it. The chill in the air increasing tenfold as melted floor suddenly froze over, letting out a cracking, hissing sound as the steam molten sludge solidified, bits and pieces of it shattered as it went from very hot to very cold in an instant.

Percy breathed easier now as cold air swirled around his lungs, cleaning out his airways and sinuses. It was a relief, but only for a moment, as a few seconds later Percy had to hold off from shivering as he felt the cold breeze on his privates and finally digested Megan's last words.

He was naked, no doubt due to the acid vapour that had also melt the floor. Either way his tanned, muscled body was on full display, his scar littered torso revealed for all to see, along with his gently swinging manhood. Which was especially bad as the room had suddenly become very very cold all of a sudden.

"Ah." Percy gasped out, before he moved his hands down to cover his manhood, his sheepish smile growing and his ears burning red as he did so. "Sorry about that Megan."

The still red faced Megan though just shook her head in response. "I-It's fine, no harm done you know..."

"Yeah, but still I seem to have gotten a bit too into my training and let my control slip a little." Percy replied wrenching his feet up as he did so, the frozen, and formerly melted metal encasing them shattering as he then gingerly picked up his icy, cold sword and began awkwardly moving towards Megan and the door to the room, one hand cupping his wedding tackle all the while.

"A little?" Megan asked incredulously, still not looking at Percy now as she instead turned away from him. "It took me bellowing in your mind to wake you up!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I just kind of got lost in my own thoughts and memories, and well not all of them are that good, and since my powers are partly connected to my emotions, well you know…" Percy trailed off lamely, still very much aware that he was standing naked next to the very attractive Martian girl.

"Yeah, yeah it fine. But do you mind, you know, putting some clothes!" Megan squeaked out, her ears burning red now along with her cheeks now as she still continued to try and avoid looking. Even if he could see her occasionally sneaking a peak in spite of herself.

"Ermm yes, sorry I'll just go do that." Percy nodded quickly, before he began to sidle out of the room, pausing only long enough to give the now ruined Training Room 4 an awkward look before he headed for his room and a spare change of clothes.

Before he had gone more than a half dozen steps though Megan once again called out to him, her voice still quaky as still gamely tried not to look at his naked form. "Oh, and Batman just called ahead, there is going to be a team meeting in twenty minutes, that's what I came here to tell you about. That and you know because the mountain was beginning to shake and I thought it might be a small earthquake or something, or Superboy messing about, and wanted to warn you."

"Ha, yeah." Percy nodded, more than aware that he was the cause of the earthquake, he could only hope he hadn't caused any structural damage to the mountain. Then again considering the amount of reinforcement the Justice League had put into the base he very doubted there was much for him to worry about. "Thanks for the warning, I'll just get dressed and meet you in the main chamber, right?"

"Yeah okay," Megan nodded, her voice containing not a shred of fear or nervousness now.

"Oh and about this, do you mind not mentioning it to the others?" Percy tagged on, he could already imagine what Wally would say if he heard that this happened. Plus Robin was already leery of him, the last thing he needed was the Boy Wonder thinking him unstable.

"Y-yeah of course, no problem." Megan laughed, her tone holding genuine warmth and amusement to it now as the whole situation finally settled in. "Accidents happen."

 **( - )**

 **(Twenty Minutes Later)**

A quick shower and a fresh changes of clothes later and Percy was soon waiting in the main chamber of Mount Justice with the others, wearing a pair of baggy black jeans, a blue T-shirt, his tan coloured coat and Celestial Bronze cuirass, gauntlets and greaves. Around his waist he also had his Drakon bone sword sheathed, and under one of his arms he had a plumed bronze coloured helmet, courtesy of the Amazons, which had a handy full face guard to protect his identity.

Which of course reminded him, sooner or later he would have to come up with a proper alias for himself. Especially once he stepped out of the shadows and became a full-blown superhero. He was still thinking either Tempest or Riptide, but hadn't quite decided yet.

Around him the other recently arrived sidekicks were also already assembled, Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad all standing slightly off to one side, excitedly talking to one another about the upcoming mission briefing, their first proper one as a team.

Whilst standing to the other side of Percy was also Megan, who was still a little pink in the cheeks as she gave him sideways looks every now and then, and also Superboy, who when Percy had seen him had only told him to "Not make so much noise" his only mention of Percy's destructive training session.

Percy let out a slight sigh as he saw this, even as he adjusted the helmet under his arm. This group was still very far away from being a proper team, the dynamic was still all wrong.

This was due to faults on all of their parts, three of them, Robin, Kaldur and Wally, had a history together and as heroes, and so consciously or subconsciously considered themselves better and more experienced than the rest of the team, plus the three of them already had their own dynamic.

Megan was still nervous and naive, with her having not fully adjusted to living on earth and with humans. This meant she was still slightly disassociated with the rest of the team, though Percy had been working on that as she was the only one of his new 'housemates' that he was really able to talk too.

His other 'housemate' Superboy was just a bit of an arse, understandably so, but still. Percy had tried to offer an olive branch the other day and draw a line under their previous disagreements. Superboy however had candidly rejected all offers, instead he seemed to want to just lone wolf it. Again it was an understandable reaction, but not something conducive to creating good team work.

Then finally there was Percy. He knew he had come across as slightly harsh and had been slightly more pointed than he had needed to be earlier, both with Robin and Superboy. Unfortunately though patience and subtly were not two of his virtues. On top of that Percy was withholding personal details about himself, details that he knew he should share, or at least some of them, in order to make this team thing work.

That being said none of the others were all that forthcoming with their own secrets, origins and lives. Save of course for Wally who was a motor mouth and had already spilled everything about himself to all and sundry without even a hint of prompting, and Superboy who was literally a few weeks old and didn't even have any secrets to begin with.

Before Percy could ponder anymore on his teammates he was quickly distracted by Batman clearing his throat, his actions getting him instant quiet as the three chattering sidekicks looked over to him expectantly.

The Dark Knight in question was standing just in front of them, Red Tornado on one side of him, and Wonder Woman on the other. All three of them looking serious as they surveyed the six sidekicks. Though in Red tornado and Batman's case they always looked serious, so that wasn't really saying very much.

"I am so ready for this mission," Kid Flash smirked, before quickly falling silent when he saw the unamused expression on Batman's face as his cold gaze fell on him for a moment making Wally look away pretty sharpish.

Cocking an eyebrow at this, Percy shared an amused look with Diana as she caught his gaze, the stern looking woman's lips twitching upwards even as she rolled her eyes at her comrade's actions.

Seemingly oblivious to this back and forth, Batman looked around at the group and then began to speak, outlining just what their first proper mission as a team would entail as he did so. "Santa Prisca is the worldwide producer of the illegal steroid Venom." Multiple holographic screens appeared behind Batman as he said that, making Percy blink as he was once again taken aback by how advanced the technology here appeared in comparison to how it was in his original world.

Several of the images on the screens were of the small, heavily wooded, tropical island of Santa Prisca, though from different angles, including an aerial view which showed a large building complex in the centre, their base of operations.

"Lately, all shipping to and from the island has stopped. This is despite the fact that satellite imaging shows that the factory is still producing the illegal drug." Batman continued, not even bothering to look at the screens as he instead surveyed the young heroes, his gaze resting a few moments longer on Percy than the rest, the suspicion in his gaze clear for Percy to see, even if most of the others likely couldn't see it. "Your assignment will be to infiltrate the island, figure out what is going on there and then report back to the League."

A slight silence followed that as the six teens looked at the images of the island and digested their brief but simple assignment. It was not glamourous by any means, but it would still require a certain amount of stealth and guile. These were things Percy knew he was lacking in at present. Which is why he was not all that disappointed, after all it would be a perfect assignment to start getting a broad range of experience, both against villains in general, as oppose to monsters, and in espionage.

"Remember this is a covert, recon mission," Batman then continued, turning to half face the screens now. "You are to observe and report only, not engage. If the Justice League needs to get involved, it will." With that said the main hologram screen changed into an aerial map of Santa Prisca, with Batman gesturing at two points on the map. "The entry plan we've devised calls for two drop zones, here and here. Are there any questions?"

"Who is the leader?" Robin finally spoke up, the youngest amongst them being the first one to bring up the pertinent question of leadership.

Batman and Red Tornado shared a glance as they heard that, even as Diana's slight smile widened ever more, her blue eyes still fixed on Percy as they seemed to twinkle.

Whatever Batman was going to say, Percy knew he wouldn't like it, not if Diana was giving him that teasing smirk of hers. Like an older sister who knew their little brother was about to get really annoyed and was delighting in it.

For all her airs as the Princess of Themyscira and the mighty superhero Wonder Woman, she could really be an annoying pest sometimes. Seriously, when she wasn't nagging him and mithering him about one thing or another, she was going out of her way to tease him.

"That will be left up to you all to decide," The Dark Knight finally replied bluntly, his gaze once again sweeping over the assembled six sidekicks judgementally.

Hearing that Robin gained a confident smirk, whilst Wally crossed his arms and nodded. Both of them clearly believing that they were the ones most suitable to lead the team. Percy meanwhile had to withhold a groan, as not only did they have to do a mission but there would also be an ongoing battle for who was in charge too.

"Also," Batman continued, gesturing over to the side of the room where several metal brief cases were resting on the floor, all of which Batman and the others had brought with them when they first arrived, "We had these made for Kid Flash, Perseus and Aqualad, with your mentor's assistance of course."

Percy frowned at that in an instant, he didn't have a mentor and he was certainly no one's protégé/ sidekick. With that thought in mind his gaze once again swept over to the smirking Diana, he knew she was behind this, just like he knew she was the reason why most of the members of the League called him Perseus. By the gods she knew how to push his buttons, and not in a good way.

"These are stealth-tech suits. Just press your respective emblems and you'll enter stealth mode." Batman then continued, watching on blandly as Kid Flash blur to his case, opened it up and dressed in his new costume in moments, pressing the lightning symbol on his chest as he did so, only for his still yellow suit to turn a mottled greyish black colour.

Aqualad open his case next, inspecting what was pretty much an identical costume to the one he was wearing, only Percy suspected that it too would turn to the same mottled black colour as Wally's once the symbol, which was strangely some kind of upside down golden, 'U' or maybe a 'V' on his belt, was pushed.

"I usually wear armour, and my cuirass and coat are usually protection enough." Percy replied as he walked over to his own case, not mentioning as he did that the reason for this was because the armour was forged from divine metal and the coat was made out of the invulnerable hide of the Nemean Lion.

Whilst Percy said this Aqualad had already started getting kitted up, whilst Megan simply changed her organic clothing black with a red cross across the chest and a dark blue cape hanging from her shoulders. Superboy meanwhile just folded his arms, after all he was already wearing a black T-shirt and jeans and had no costume to speak of. As for Wally and Robin, they both started eagerly talking about the mission again.

"I took that into account. Diana helped with the require specifications, the style and the sizes." Batman replied bluntly, his cold gaze boring into Percy as he opened the case.

Inside was what Percy could only think of as a greyish black, full body, armoured suit, it had segmented black, metal plates on the shoulders, torso, legs and arms. On top of that it came with bladed black bracers and greaves, as well as a black, over the shoulder sheath for his sword and a pair of fingerless, metal studded combat gloves for his hands. Then finally to finish the outfit off, it had black, metal, masked helmet created in the Ancient Greek hoplite style, only instead of a plume it had a sharpened, bladed fin on top.

"It will be heavier than I had wanted, but Diana assured me you could easily handle the weight. It has also been made resistant to highly concentrated acid, intense pressure and is fire retardant." Batman said as Percy pulled the armour out of the case, feeling the Kevlar like material of the suit as well as its weight. It was indeed heavier than his usual kit, but no more heavy than what Percy had been used too when he used to play capture the flag at Camp, and he had been twelve the first time he had worn that stuff.

"Hmm ok, I think this'll work." Percy finally allowed as he continued to check out the kit, it was damned impressive really, and he had to admit it looked kind of cool too.

"He means thank you." Diana added in, looking to Batman now with a smile.

"Yes," Percy said at the moment, before he nodded to both of them. "Thank you, to both of you."

"You'll be interested to know Diana recommended a trident as your symbol." Batman tagged on in response, getting a sharp look from Percy before he looked down and saw that there was indeed a trident symbol on the right breast of the suit. "She wouldn't expand on why though…?"

Percy hummed at that but didn't answer as he instead closed the case and stood up. "I'll get changed in my room and drop the rest of my stuff there before coming back."

"You have ten minutes." Batman told him, before he looked to the rest of the assembled heroes. "Further instructions and tools are already in the Bioship. You can leave when all of you are ready!"

"Right okay, everyone get any kit you need and then meet at the Bioship ASAP." Robin replied loudly, looking around at the others as he gave his orders.

Percy cocked an eyebrow at that in amusement, but headed back to his room all the same. Or at least he tried to, because before he could go too far he was stopped by Batman calling out to him.

"Also Perseus I want to talk with you when you get back from your mission." Batman said, making Percy pause, before he turned and sent him a flat look.

"About what?"

"Training Room 4 for one, as well as your origins and your abilities in general." Batman replied quickly, his bat glare meeting Percy's wolf stare and finding an equal.

"We've already discussed his origins and abilities, Perseus will tell you and the rest when he is ready and comfortable. I've already vouched for him on this." Diana cut in, her voice as sharp as steel as she took a step forward so she was standing between Percy and Batman. Already the amusement had vanished from her blue eyes and had been replaced with azure fire as she locked gazes with the Dark Knight. "As I've said he is my family. I would hope you treat him as such and give him the benefit of the doubt, as he has my absolute trust and confidence!"

Batman grunted in response to that, clearly not satisfied.

"That being said." Diana then continued, half turning to Percy now. "Training Room 4?"

"Ah, well I was a bit over enthusiastic there…" Percy replied quickly a slightly sheepish smile back on his face now, his previous glare vanishing as he saw Diana's stern but still slightly amused gazed on him. "I kind of got lost in the moment whilst I was training and might have, well you know, damaged it a little…"

"It's going to need to be entirely stripped out and rebuilt. You melted the walls, floor and all the machinery. The roof will also need to be surveyed and potentially reinforced too." Batman retorted quickly.

Diana cocked an elegant eyebrow as she heard that, before she folded her arms and looked at Percy expectantly.

"Hm, what he says is true. But as my 'mentor' I'm sure you would be more than willing to sort this for me." Percy replied, his mind moving quickly before he then gave Diana a bright smile, ignoring the slight twitching of her eye as he did so. "What do you say cousin?"

"That you're very lucky I like you so much." Diana replied dryly, though her lips did twitch upwards into a slight smile as she heard his last words.

"There will be no need for compensation as it was a training accident." Batman cut in quickly here, his gaze still on Percy. "What I would like to know is more of your abilities so Training Room 4 can be altered to fit your… abilities and skills… when you use it again and so we can avoid any more damage from here on out."

Percy almost laughed as he heard that, it was an obvious attempt by Batman to get some secrets out of him. Despite that though the Bat did make a good point, and although he was leery of sharing everything he could do with the man, he could see he would at least benefit from sharing a few things. Plus it would also get him off of his back and go a long way to improving relations.

"Can we talk about this when I get back?" Percy asked a few moments later, deciding to buy time for the moment so he could think more on what he would do later, including the pros and cons of giving away information about his unique skillset, or at a few bits and pieces of information. He certainly wouldn't be giving up all his secrets.

Batman nodded at that. "Yes."

"Okay then." Percy nodded, aware as he did so that he was the only one of his team in the chamber now and that he still needed to get ready for the mission. "I will head off and see you back here later."

With that said Percy gave them both a nod before he turned and headed for his room.

"Have fun!" Diana called after him with a wave. Percy sending her a half wave back over his shoulder as he did so.

 **( - )**

 **(Sometime later, in the Bioship)**

Currently Miss Martian was sitting in the pilot seat of the alien ship with her hands in what looked like two glowing white lights, psychically controlling the invisible craft as it shot through the cloudy sky and across the ocean.

"We must be around three miles or so away from Santa Prisca." Aqualad said, standing up and pressing the centre of his red shirt as he did so, his new stealth-tech outfit turning completely black and grey as he did so. "We're almost at the first drop point."

"Ok, are you ready?" Megan asked, lowering the craft as she did so, making it descend through the clouds until it was hovering barely twenty feet above the water.

"Yes." Aqualad nodded stoically.

In response to this a hole opened up in the bottom of the ship, one through which Aqualad then dived, shooting through the twenty odd feet to the sea and straight into the smooth ocean below.

In the end it was decided that only one person was needed for this part of the mission, and Aqualad as oppose to Percy was chosen for it, voted for by the three protégés and Superboy, due in part to the slightly younger teen having apparently more 'experience' at this sort of thing than Percy, and his heritage as an Atlantean which would allow him to work best underwater.

Percy could of course see the irony in this, even if the others couldn't. What he could not see though was their reasoning. They had seen Percy in action when in the water after all and so surely knew he was more than capable. Despite that though they had chosen Aqualad over him. Whether this was due to trust issues, or them believing he lacked the subtlety this part of the mission needed, Percy wasn't sure.

Still for the sake of peace, and in order to not disrupt the mission so early on he had accepted the choice. After all Aqualad did indeed seem to know what he was doing, and although he paled in comparison to raw power and ability compared to Percy, he was more than capable of fulfilling the requirements for this part of the mission.

That being said Percy stilled watched as Aqualad dived into the water, swimming through it at inhuman speeds as he shot towards the nearby coastline. Reaching out with his senses as the craft hovered over the point where they had dropped him, Percy could feel the other teen swimming by a dozen objects that were likely the sea mines that had been in Batman's briefing notes, with ease.

In no time at all the dark skinned Atlantean shot out of the water and landed on the beach, beyond Percy's senses now. Though he still obviously accomplished his mission, as a minute or so later they received a message from him. "This is Aqualad my mission's complete now. Heat and motion sensors are on an endless loop. I am now on my way to the rendezvous point."

"Right lets go." Robin muttered to the rest of them, once again trying to assume the mantle of leader, despite none of the others having voted for him.

With that said the Bioship started off again, shooting forwards as it passed over the now unmonitored coast line, after which it kept flying over the top of the leafy canopy until it reached the second drop zone much further inland.

"Here is the second drop zone." Miss Martian said as the rest of the team stood up now and started getting ready.

Including Percy who grabbed his helmet from his chair and shoved it on his head, the smooth, black metal completely enclosing his head, save of course for the straight, vertical gap down the middle for his mouth and two holes for his eyes. With that done Percy flexed in his new high-tech armour, loosening his sword in its back sheath as he did so.

As he was doing this Miss Martian had altered her Bioship to create several pulley hooks, ones that Robin, Kid Flash and Percy all hooked onto their own belts. Kid Flash activating his stealth suit as he did so, by pressing the flash emblem on his suit.

"How cool is this?" Kid Flash asked the rest of them at large, checking himself out as he did so.

"Very impressive." Miss Martian replied as she then morphed from her regular Ms. Martian outfit into a full-body stealth version complete with a hood, it was the same outfit she had tested out before when they first received the suits.

"Uh, that works too." Kid Flash replied somewhat dumbly, staring at the Martian with a grin.

Percy meanwhile tapped his own emblem, ignoring Robin's narrowed eyes as he saw the trident, it was the same partly suspicious, partly curious look Aqualad had sent him when he had seen the emblem. Not that Percy cared, hell he had more right to wear that symbol than anyone else, including all of the Atlanteans, unless of course some of them were children of the Greek god of the sea Poseidon too?

There was no response to Percy's actions though, or none that he could see, as his suit it appeared was already in camo mode and had no other mode.

If he was honest with himself that was kind of a pity, he'd been kind of hoping for some really cool trump card or something like that, but it would appear that it was not to be.

"Hey Superboy it's not too late to put on the new stealth tech too." Kid Flash spoke up again, eyeing up Percy's distinct costume as he did so before he then looked to the impatiently looking Superboy who was once again wearing his usual black T-shirt with its red Superman shield.

"No tights, no capes, no offense." Superboy replied abruptly.

"That's a fair shout. Capes are a pretty stupid idea after all." Percy spoke up flexing his arms and armoured neck as he did so, a slight smirk on his face as he thought back to a film he had seen just before he fell into Tartarus, it had been called 'the Incredibles' and had had a comedy bit on capes in it, and although funny the commentary was pretty justified too. "Armour though, armour is where it's at trust me."

"Hn." Robin grunted, whipping his cape around as he did so and looking away from Percy now with an irritable expression on his face.

"Armour is pointless when you're invulnerable." Superboy shot back at him bluntly, getting a shrug from Percy in response.

"Wait, you don't like capes?" Miss Martian asked somewhat shyly, toying around with the edge of her blue, hooded cloak as she did so.

Percy twitched slightly as he heard her tone and saw the look on her face, before he then sent her a crooked smile. "It depends on a person's powers I suppose. You though, you definitely make it work!"

"Thanks". Megan flushed slightly as she heard that, before she pulled her hood up on and went all but invisible as she opened up a hole in the ship and they all descended to Santa Prisca. Robin, Percy and Kid Flash all using the lines to do so silently and subtlety. Miss Martian meanwhile floated down in a graceful manner using her abilities.

As for Superboy, well he took a more direct route and leapt off of the craft before anyone could say anything else, after which he smashed down onto the ground with a thunderous crash, creating a small crater in the earth as he did so.

"I knew I didn't need a line," Superboy smirked as he watched the others descend.

"And yet causing a seismic event might go against the point of being _covert_ ," Robin replied sarcastically shaking his head at the clone. To which Superboy just shrugged, not caring in the least.

Percy meanwhile narrowed his eyes, the clone was once again proving himself to be too impetuous. This group of young heroes still had far too many problems to properly call themselves a team.

"Right let's get moving!" Robin then said, after which he took off without bothering to wait for the others, or name a direction, instead disappearing into the dense woodland as if he expected everyone else to follow, or know where to go.

The rest of the team sent each other bemused looks at this, before they too started to move off and into the dense, surrounding woodland.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what did you all think? I hope you enjoyed it and leave a review.**

 **Also to reiterate a point the flash backs in the previous chapters will be answered as the story continues. Sometimes in conversation, sometimes in thought, sometimes through interactions and sometimes through other flashbacks. That being said I will be doing this sparingly so it does not consume the story or make it fell too disjointed, as I have read other stories with that problem.**

 **Next the pairings I do have two ideas I am going for and they are two that are not often used like a tall. They are also ones that I believe will have interesting interactions with Percy. That being said I was hoping for advice, do you think I should tag them in the story or not? Plus I would love to hear of what you think about Percy, his personality and developed powers? As well as that I am interested in what people think of how Percy's presence is developing the team and other characters, both in positive ways and negative ways?**

 **So yep, thanks for reading, hope you continue to enjoy and check out my other stories.**

 **I'll catch you all later.**

 **Greed720.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: So here we all are a new update. Honestly it feels like it has been a while, even if it hasn't really been that long. Still here it is, I hope you enjoy and leave a comment or a review! On top of that thanks for all the support and favs and follows, this story is nearly the top of the PJ/ Young Justice crossover sections now. So thanks for that, your support really means a lot!**

 **Hopefully it'll eventually be the top of the Young Justice crossover section too at some point, though I reckon achieving that will be damn difficult.**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or Young Justice.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"And yet causing a seismic event might go against the point of being covert," Robin replied sarcastically shaking his head at the clone. To which Superboy just shrugged, not caring in the least._

 _Percy meanwhile narrowed his eyes, the clone was once again proving himself to be too impetuous. This group of young heroes still had far too many problems to properly call themselves a team._

 _"Right let's get moving!" Robin then said, after which he took off without bothering to wait for the others, or name a direction, instead disappearing into the dense woodland as if he expected everyone else to follow, or know where to go._

 _The rest of the team sent each other bemused looks at this, before they too started to move off and into the dense, surrounding woodland._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 7**

 **( - )**

 **(On the tropical island of Santa Prisca)**

The climate on the island of Santa Prisca was warm and very humid, even during the evening the air was hot and sticky. On top of that the island was also heavily wooded with numerous types of tropical trees, fauna and flora spread throughout it, creating a dense undergrowth, one which tended to inhibit movement and make sneaking about difficult.

Suffice to say for the five teens trekking through the woods it was not easy going, for Percy, Wally and Superboy it was especially difficult to move quietly due to all the fallen leaves and branches, and the thick leafy bushes and plants all around them. And that was not taking into account the stifling heat and climate, or the wildlife that they could hear all around them.

Yes, travelling through Santa Prisca was not easy, or at least it wasn't easy when you were trying to be subtle and quiet.

Robin of course was in his element, the cloaked teen occasionally popping into the others vision as he darted ahead, moving swiftly and silently from tree to tree.

Megan too was also finding it easy as she used her Martian abilities to turn herself invisible and fly overhead, weaving through the branches with ease completely unseen by all.

In contrast the other three were less experienced and skilled in subtlety and silent moving. Still they made an effort as they slowly but steadily made their way deeper in land, all the time looking for the rendezvous point where they would meet up with Aqualad. After which they would head for the drug creation and distribution facility in the centre of the island, where they could fulfil their mission and investigate why said facility was no longer operating as it should.

After a couple more minutes of travelling, Robin once again appeared in front of them, the youngest of the group lifting up his arm and clenched fist in a similar way to how soldiers did so in films. Opening his hand wide as he then gestured for the other four to stop, which they did, even if Percy and Wally shared a bemused look at Robin's attempt to take charge, and Superboy just grunted in irritation.

"We are almost at the rendezvous point." Said Robin quietly, his eyes narrowed behind his mask as he darted backwards so he was closer to the other four, close enough that they could hear him whisper.

Ideally they would have been wearing communication devices of some sort, unfortunately though Batman had vetoed that idea when Percy suggested it whilst going off his own interpretation of the few spy films he had seen. With the Dark Knight having been leery in case there was some kind of scanning equipment on the island that could hack into the signal.

"Ok, we should wait there for Aqualad." Percy spoke up, shifting around as he continued to get used to his new armour. Armour that he had noticed had distinct similarities to Batman's own costume, both in terms of design and colour scheme, only Percy's had a distinct Ancient Greek design to it, and provided far more protection that Batman's probably did, even if it was also probably heavier and more restrictive than the Dark Knight's armour, plus is didn't have the cape. "Don't get too far ahead, we need to do some recon and strategise before we head into the base."

Robin frowned as he heard that. "I know, and we will, but first let's meet up with everyone. Then Aqualad, Kid Flash and I can head in closer to get a proper look at the facility and whether there are any patrols. After that we'll come back and sort out what your roles will be."

Reaching up Percy pulled his black, steel helmet off of his head, gladly removing the constricting headpiece from his head as he then fixed Robin with an irritated look. "Don't get ahead of yourself, of all of us Miss Martian is the most suited to recon, with her telepathy she can look for patrols and try and see how many there are in the facility, and with her invisibility and flight she can do so unseen."

"She's too green," Robin shot back, shaking his head, clearly not picking up on the pun. "All three of you are."

"Hey you two, this isn't the time to be arguing about this." Miss Martian cut in nervously, reappearing as she floated back down to earth.

Percy initially frowned as he heard her words, but a few moments later he nodded, locking eyes with Robin as he did so. "She's right, let's meet up with Aqualad first. We can sort the rest out later."

Before Robin could answer, Superboy spoke up, tilting his head as he looked away from the squabbling duo, with him instead picking up a faint crunching sound in the distance. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what? Wait is this a super hearing thing?" Kid Flash asked with a frown, looking around the area and straining his ears to hear what Superboy did.

"Is it Aqualad?" Percy tagged on just as quickly, looking away from Robin now as he instead looked to Superboy.

Superboy didn't answer though as he instead continued to listen in on the sound.

So instead Kid Flash put on his goggles, the lens lighting up as he activated their infrared mode and scanned the surrounding area. "I've got five signatures about a quarter mile away."

"I see six others. The two groups are about to meet," Superboy tagged on as he used his own X-ray vision to scan the area, combining it with his super hearing.

"Right," Percy nodded, drawing on his control over water now as he spread his senses out through the humid air in the forest. This technique wasn't perfect by any means, but it would at least allow him to track movement in a several hundred metre area around him. "I've got them."

Superboy sent him an odd look at that statement.

"I've got my own sensory ability, it allows me to track people through water molecules in the air, I feel out vibrations and it gives me a rough idea of what and who is around me." Percy admitted grudgingly, weighing up his privacy with the usefulness of sharing elements of his abilities, and finding it was best to share a little in order to make the team more cohesive, and aid in strategizing.

"Sweet, one of these days you're going to need to tell us how you can do all this stuff!" Kid Flash muttered, an impressed look on his face.

"Maybe later." Percy's muttered back, his lips twitching upwards slightly. "For now let's focus on the mission shall we?"

"You're right, so Robin what…" Kid Flash began, only to freeze when he noticed that the Boy Wonder had disappeared. "Hey, where did he go?"

"He was here a second ago," Miss Martian tagged on blinking in confusion as she looked around.

"Yeah I felt him leave about a minute ago." Percy said a wholly unsurprised expression on his face.

"Great, why didn't you stop him? I mean now we have to find him as well as Aqualad, all while avoiding those two patrols." Kid Flash grumbled irritably. With him being annoyed with both Robin for being impetuous and running off, himself for noticing Robin slipping off, and Percy for not stopping the Boy Wonder, not that Robin would have willingly allowed Percy to stop him, but still.

Before anymore could be said gunshots began to fill the air. "Don't need super hearing for that," Kid Flash continued, looking back to the two unfamiliar groups only to see that they had now met up and were having a shootout.

Both Percy and Superboy also looked off in the same direction as him as he did so.

Pulling his helmet back on, his sea green eyes still visible through the slit in the helmet, Percy unsheathed his Drakon bone sword twirling it in his hand instinctively as he did so. "Let's go, try to stick to the shadows, we'll circle round them whilst they're distracted."

Megan nodded at that a smile on her face, before she went invisible again. Superboy meanwhile grunted, locking gazes with Percy as he did so, before he then nodded, grudgingly acknowledging the older teens order.

"Right, let's go." Kid Flash whispered with a quick smile, before in a burst of speed he took off running in the direction of the two groups, looking to get a glimpse of what was happening, and who the two parties were, with his none infrared vision before circling round. Unfortunately though, the wet, leaf strewn forest floor caused him to slip as he sped along, which led to him slipping on some mud, before he then stumbled forwards and tripped over the roots of a nearby tree.

After which he rolled forward almost comically, muddying up his suit and rustling the nearby brush, as he landed straight in between the two battling groups. His appearance immediately drawing the attention of the assembled men.

"So much for stealth," Wally gulped, looking around nervously as he saw a host of guns now trained on him.

"For fuck's sake." Percy grunted some distance away, holding off the impulse to face palm, as he instead leapt forward, barging through the brush and towards Wally's location, Miss Martian flying overhead and Superboy running gamely at his side. The best they could do now was to incapacitate the two patrols before which ever group was in charge could send a warning back to the facility.

 **( - )**

 **(With one of the two groups)**

Bane scowled as he and his men attempted to fight off the red cloaked interlopers from his island. All of them using machineguns to do so, even Bane himself, though that was mainly due to Kobra, the man behind the invasion, having taken his usual equipment and Venom from him, thus stopping him from engaging in his usual style of combat.

Suffice to say that was just one of a number of things he was going to make Kobra pay for once he retook his island.

Gritting his teeth behind his El luchador like mask, Bane rattled off a few more shots, moving so he was looking around the trunk of the tree he was hiding behind as he tried to hit one his equally well armed opponents.

 _"Take no prisoners!"_ He then shouted in his first language, Spanish, his brow furrowing as he ducked back behind cover as several bullet struck the tree shattering and splintering some of the bark. _"Kill these bastards!"_

His men all roared at that, even as they started to unleashed more firepower, not that it did much good as they were outnumbered and in a stalemate. With Bane having only been able to free a couple of his boys when he escaped captivity.

Growling at this, Bane was about to start shouting again when he was caught by surprise by the sound of rustling bushes and a loud cry of pain. Following on from which a ginger haired, teen in a tight fitting black and grey outfit, with goggles and a lightning bolt symbol on his chest crashed through the trees and landed in the centre of the clearing.

Almost immediately the gun fire stopped as both Bane and his men, and Kobra's cultist followers stopped attacking and stared at the unexpected interloper. Bane quickly identifying the symbol on the boy's chest and the teen himself as the Flash's protégé, Speedy, or something like that. Which of course begged the question of what a sidekick from America was doing here?

 _"Kill him,"_ Bane ordered bluntly, he could get answers later, once he had retaken his island.

Almost immediately both side started firing, only this time at the teenage sidekick. The sudden loud bursts of gunfire masking the sound of more rustling bushes in the distance.

In response Kid Flash was on his feet in moments, and blurring around at an incredible speed as he tried to avoid to sudden onslaught of gunfire.

As he did this several bird-a-rangs flew out of the tree line, knocking weapons out of Bane's men hands, even as Percy and Superboy thundered out of the brush.

"What are you doing? Why didn't you vanish into the woods?" Robin shouted as he swung down from one of the tree branches, his eyes narrowed as he saw the attackers were already regathering themselves.

"Oh is that what you wanted us to do!? We can't read your mind you know that don't you?!" Kid Flash snapped back as he blurred forward and tripped up one of the Kobra cultists, before he then disarmed another, after which his gaze flickered over to the other members of the team, including the now once again visible Miss Martian, who at that moment was telekinetically wrenching guns out of people's hands. "Well, at least I can't!"

"It's not my fault, you told me I was only allowed to read the bad guy's minds!" Miss Martian shot back as she darted through the air, avoiding a sudden spray of bullets from one of Bane's men.

"Enough bickering!" Percy snapped as he made his presence known, with him swinging his sword up and cutting one of the Kobra cultist's guns in two, even as Superboy thundered forward and engaged Bane. Not that Percy paid much attention to this, as he instead suddenly raised his other hand and made a gripping motion. "We need to finish this as fast and quietly as we can before they send an alert to someone at the facility that there are intruders on the island!"

With that said the six Kobra cultists and four of Bane's men started making gagging sounds, grabbing at their throats or heads as Percy seized control of the water in their body, in particular their blood as he cut off their circulation, stilling their lungs for the moment and siphoning away the blood from their brains.

With several ragged gasps the ten men then collapsed to the floor unconscious. After which Percy released his control on them, a single bead of sweat rolling down his forehead and a ragged gasp leaving his lips at the level of control he had had to maintain to achieve the feat. Honestly controlling people's blood when it was still inside the body, it was no easier thing, and the more people he had to control and the stronger, physically and/ or mentally, they were the harder it became.

"Well shit…" Kid Flash muttered as he came to a halt and saw that all their enemies were now down, save of course for Bane who was still tussling with Superboy.

"What did you do, did you kill them!?" Robin snapped out harshly, taking a few steps towards Percy as he pulled his helmet off and pushed his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

"Give it a rest, they're unconscious." Percy sighed, already tired of Robin's attitude as he brushed past the younger boy. "Thus far I've have seen nothing that calls for their deaths, neither through their actions or their abilities."

"You…" Robin began to say, his eyes narrowing even further.

Only to be cut off as Percy continued speaking. "Now do something useful and tie them up."

"You can't talk to me like that, I'm the leader!" Robin replied angrily.

"To be the leader you actually have to lead." Percy shot back dryly, after which he ignored the scowling Boy Wonder as he instead walked over, and came to a stop next to Kid Flash, both of them and Megan watching as Superboy overpowered Bane.

"Why didn't you take him out too?" Kid Flash asked, a bemused smile on his face as he looked between the angry Robin and Percy.

"He's Bane, the leader here. Of all of the people here he would be the most useful to interrogate. If I took him out the same way as the others though then we might not be able to do that, that ability I just used is not as easy as it looks, which is why I've no idea when those lot will wake up." Percy shrugged, glancing back at the unconscious thugs, all of whom Robin was now going around, tying up their hands and feet, a scowl still on his face as he did so.

"They will wake up though won't they?" Megan asked suddenly nervous.

"Yeah they'll be fine. I basically just took control of their blood and starved their brains and lungs of oxygen." Percy replied easily, looking to the Martian now. "I could have done much worse stuff, but I decide to play with kiddie gloves and bring them down as fast and as silently as I could."

"Damn, that's kind of scary. So your control over water is so powerful you can control people's blood. Shit, that's beyond anything Aqualad can do, maybe even Aquaman too!" Kid Flash muttered, the expression he was sending Percy holding a mixture of both awe and wariness. "Just what are you?"

"Maybe later." Percy replied, his gaze still on the fight. "Oi Superboy hurry up!"

"I am trying!" Superboy growled angrily, after which he threw another right hook, only for Bane to block it, before nailing Superboy in the face with a straight jab.

The villain, despite not possessing his usual Venom enhanced super strength, still proving himself a more skilled hand to hand fighter than Superboy. So much so that he was keeping pace, despite the clone being stronger and more durable.

"You think you can take down Bane?" Bane snapped out in highly accented English, throwing another punch at the clone's face. Only for Superboy to take the blow, and then catch the fist in his much stronger grip. "Oh shit!"

Smirking, Superboy wrenched Bane forward and then delivered a nasty punch into his gut knocking all the air out of his lungs and sending him crashing to the floor.

"Enough Superboy, we need him conscious!" Aqualad said as he suddenly jogged onto the scene, probably drawn in by the sounds of fighting, and immediately took everything in.

"He's right, we can interrogate him." Percy nodded, sheathing his sword now as he walked over and sent Bane smacking into the floor when he brought his foot down on his shaking back. "We need to know what's going on here, it'll be useful for when we make our plan."

"Right," Aqualad nodded, before he patted Superboy on the shoulder and gave him a nod. "Kid Flash, you and Miss Martian help secure the others. Perseus, you, Superboy and I can keep an eye on Bane until everyone is finished, after which we can interrogate him."

"I know these outfits," Robin said to the group at large as he and Megan finished tying up the last of the gunmen, nodding to the red cloaked men as he did so. "They are part of the Cult of Kobra."

"I am sure that if Batman knew such extremists were on the island he would have let us know," Aqualad said as he and Superboy leant Bane against a tree, and then stepped back and allowed Robin to tie him up.

"Which means that Kobra are the ones that took over the island," Robin said once he finished incapacitating Bane, looking to both Wally and Kaldur now, ignoring the other three none of whom knew what the Cult of Kobra was, though going off the others reactions they could assume they were some violent, highly dangerous, religious extremists.

"Great, now we can contact the League. Mission accomplished," Kid Flash said with a grin, looking around at the others as he did so.

Robin shook his head in the negative. "No way, Kobra isn't selling Venom they are hoarding it. We aren't leaving here until I find out why."

"Until _you_ find out?" Kid Flash asked incredulously.

"This team needs a leader." Robin shot back quickly.

"And you think it is you? You are thirteen year old kid who bailed on us." Kid Flash replied, a hint of irritation entering his voice now.

"So I guess you are a mature fifteen? Ha, you blew our cover at the first chance!" Robin snapped back, standing up and getting in the older boy's face now.

Watching this back and forth, Miss Martian looked at Superboy and the bored looking Percy. "Don't either of you want to be leader?"

Superboy scoffed and shook his head, "No way. How about you?"

"I don't think I am ready to be a leader. I am new to all this hero stuff," Megan shrugged, surprised by Superboy's almost amiable response. "What about you Percy?'

"Not particularly." Percy replied, eyeing the two squabbling teens in irritation, before looking back at Miss Martian. "It's not a roll I want to step into again, not unless I have no other choice. Trust me leading isn't all it's cracked up to be. There is a lot of responsibility, and a lot of stress involved.

"So you've been a leader before?" Megan asked in interest.

"A long time ago." Percy replied vaguely, before he sent her a smile. "But I may tell you about it later."

"Ok," Megan nodded with a smile, she had enough sense to know when not to push. Everyone was entitled to their own privacy and their own secrets. She would be a hypocrite if she thought otherwise.

With that said both of them tuned back into the ongoing argument.

"Do you think you are Batman or something?" Kid Flash asked angrily.

"I am the closest thing we've got." Robin replied aggressively.

"Should we stop them?" Megan asked.

"Yes," Kaldur spoke up, before either Percy or Superboy could reply.

Before the Atlantean could do as he said though, he was interrupted by a sudden burst of laughter from Bane. All six of them looking to their captive as they heard his laughter ring out, Wally and Robin trailing off in their argument as they saw the smirk on the villain's face.

"And what do you have to laugh about?" Percy asked bluntly, absentmindedly fingering the hilt of his sword as he eyed the dangerous villain suspiciously, he had read this man's file on the journey to Santa Prisca. This was a man that by all accounts deserved death, he was a murderer, a drug peddler, a violent, remorseless psychopath, one who had no regret for anything he did, and someone that would likely never change no matter which institution or prison he was put in.

"I am laughing at you, you think yourselves to be clever children don't you? Well if you were as clever as you think you are, and you want to find out what is going on, then you should stop arguing and just ask me! I can take you inside, I can help you." Bane smirked here, his gaze flickering over to his unconscious and bound men, before going back to the six suspicious looking heroes. "I know a secret entrance into the factory, and I can show you."

Aqualad looked over at Miss Martian as Bane said that, his question obvious.

The red haired Martian nodded as she saw the look, walking over to Bane as she did so, her hazel eyes focused on him and narrowed in concentration. "There is a secret entrance, but he is hiding something." Megan said, wincing slightly as she struggled to keep up with all his thoughts. "Wait, he is now reciting football scores in Spanish."

"It is not my first time dealing with a telepath, alien!" Bane smirked in response, seemingly unperturbed by her psychic intrusion into his mind.

"Why would you be willing to help us?" Aqualad demanded, his gaze flickering from Megan to Bane now.

"It is not complicated. The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Bane shrugged, forcing a patently false, friendly smile onto his face.

It was a smile that Percy didn't buy for a second. "Until you stab them in the back?"

Bane's smile faded as he heard that. "And why would I do a thing like that?"

Percy cocked an eyebrow, before he looked around at the scattered guns and tied up thugs, after which he sent Bane an amused look, as if to say 'isn't it obvious?'

"If there really is a secret entrance it would allow us to get into the factory undetected." Robin piped up suddenly, a conflicted, pensive expression on his face.

"If he tries anything I'll take him down," Superboy tagged on helpfully, smacking his fist into an open palm as if to emphasis his point.

Aqualad, who now seemed to have nominally took the lead by default, for the moment at least, glanced around at the rest of the team. Trusting Bane, one of the most dangerous villains in the world, well it was risky to say the least. All of those present knew that. Still the possibility of a secret entrance into the factory was a good opportunity, plus the three original sidekicks were still feeling slightly rebellious.

"It is the best plan at the moment." Robin said suddenly, seemingly making his mind up, untying the rope and freeing Bane as he did so. "The way I see it, he doesn't have his Venom and with Superboy here we can easily deal with him if he tries to turn on us. Looking at it objectively the pros of using what he knows outweighs the cons."

Kid Flash, Superboy and Miss Martian all shrugged as they heard that, after which they shared a few looks and then nodded as they, as one, decided to just go along with Robin's decision for now.

Percy meanwhile fingered the hilt of his sword, his eyes narrowed as he gave Bane a suspicious look, before he shrugged. He would keep an on him no matter what, and the moment he sensed betrayal he would bring him down, after all with his abilities and the fact that Bane didn't have Venom pumping through his system at the moment, the man himself wouldn't be too difficult to deal with.

"Lead the way," Aqualad order, nudging Bane onto his feet with his foot, after which he and the rest of them team began to follow the criminal through the forest.

'I have a bad feeling about this,' Percy thought to himself, even as he followed the others through the thickly wooded forest, pulling his helmet back on as he did so.

 **( - )**

 **(Ten Minutes Later)**

A few minutes later, the group, now led by Bane, reached the edge of a cliff, one which provided an overlook down into the facility below. With the thick woodland providing the assembled heroes, and one villain, adequate enough cover for them to group together and look down at the sprawling, expansive facility.

The moment they came to a halt, Robin fished around his utility belt for a moment before he pulled out a small set of binoculars which he then used to observe the facility own below. With Superboy likely using his supervision to do the same. Whilst Kid Flash once against used his infrared, even if it only had a limited effect due to the distance.

The rest of them however could only wait around for one of the others to give them a more detailed description of what was going on down below.

"It looks like they're moving a lot of product down there. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot, they are moving a load of those crates to the roof. A buy is definitely going down." Robin muttered, passing his binoculars to Kaldur now as he turned to the rest of them. "But if Kobra is not selling to the usual suspects, then…"

"Then we need to identify who the new buyer is." Aqualad finished for him, observing what was going on through the binoculars himself before he passed them on to Megan who had a look, and then on to Percy who also had a slight glance at the red cloaked men and women, all of whom were slowly moving a large number of crates onto the helipad on the roof of the facility, crates that almost certainly were filled with this Venom drug.

"Just what I was thinking." Kid Flash spoke up with a nod as he took his turn with the binoculars now, a cocky grin on his face as he then returned them to Robin after a quick glance.

"Yeah, you're the thinker." Robin muttered dryly as he stowed the binoculars back in his utility belt.

"Sarcasm? Dude. A real leader would focus on getting answers." Kid Flash shot back quickly, his brow furrowing, though his lips curved upwards into a cocky smirk.

"Enough bickering." Sighed Percy, he was really beginning to get pretty irritated now. Was he this shitty when he was their age?

"Perseus is right, this is no time for arguing. For now we need to get inside to get a closer look," Cut in Aqualad, his own brow furrowed as he sent the two other teens a frown before sending Percy a nod of acknowledgement.

Percy cocked an eyebrow at that, before he smiled slightly. Maybe he was being a bit harsh, not all of them were acting like brats, and as bemused as he was about Kaldur and his origins, the slightly younger teen had, for the most part, proven himself pretty dependable.

Sure the dark skinned teen was not flawless, he had his own faults and had things he definitely needed to work on. But of the lot of them he, along with Miss Martian too actually, was the most focused on the mission and the matter at hand.

Smiling again at this, Percy was soon distracted by the masked villain, Bane, who choose that moment to walk away towards a large boulder a few feet away.

"And what are you up to Bane?" Asked Percy, his right hand already raising as he summoned water from the humid air and created four floating spears of water around him.

Bane glanced back as he heard that, his eyes narrowing behind his mask at Percy's display or power, after which he then sent the green eyed Demigod a smirk.

"This." He said, before he grabbed the boulder and with a slight amount of exertion he moved it to one side, revealing a hidden entrance to a cave behind it as he did so. "Your answers are this way," Bane continued, before he made to enter the cave.

"Great, now _El Luchador_ is our leader," Kid Flash grumbled, only for Robin to elbow the elder teen in the ribs, after which he started to follow Bane. Kid Flash following along closely after him, along with Superboy who sent Percy a speculative look, eyeing the water spears curiously, before disappearing into the gloom.

"Aqualad, Miss Martian." Percy suddenly spoke up as the two made to enter the cave too, the water spears around him dispersing back into the air as he saw he had their attention. "Keep an eye on Bane, I don't trust him for a second. The moment he shows his true colours, or becomes a liability, he needs to be taken down before he endangers us or the mission."

"I agree." Kaldur nodded, holding back more of his questions about Percy's abilities as he instead focused on the matter at hand. That being said he would be pressing the older teen for answers the moment they got back to Mount Justice, and would be reporting back to Aquaman what he had seen so far too. "He agreed to help us too easily, I think he has something planned."

"Probably a double cross, he likely wants us and this Cult of Kobra to wipe one another out, which will leave him free to once again take over the island." Percy stated bluntly, he had already pondered on Bane's treachery.

"I will keep listening in on his mind then, it should give us at least a little bit of warning before he betrays us." Megan spoke up decisively, a smile on her face as the three of them began to walk into the cave now.

"Good idea," Percy nodded with a smile, even as the three began to catch up with the slowly moving group of four ahead of them, none of whom, save for Superboy, seemed to have noticed their momentary absence.

Continuing on through the dark tunnel, Bane soon led them to a secret, metal door at the end of the cave. After which he put his hand on what looked like a high-tech fingerprint reader, which beeped, the light going from red to green as he put his hand on it, before the door slid open silently.

Opening the way for all of them to enter the factory.

"Robin…" Aqualad said as he tried to force his way to the front of the group as they entered what looked like a massive warehouse. Only for the others to look around and see that the Boy Wonder was already gone, gone before any of them could stop him.

"Don't tell me he was captured all ready," Bane chuckled mockingly.

"No, he just does that," Aqualad sighed in response, knuckling his temple with his hands as he did so.

Kid Flash meanwhile just smirked before he put his goggles on. "I'll go get the information we need before Boy Wonder returns." After which he vanished in a blur of motion, far faster than the others could react, meaning that none of them had the chance to stop him either.

Honestly this team didn't seem to be improving, if anything their teamwork was getting worse.

"Great chain of command." Chuckled Bane, his lips once again twisting into a disdainful smirk as he looked to Superboy, Miss Martian and Aqualad, after which his expression turned into a scowl when he noticed another of the heroes missing. "Hey wait where's the oth…"

That was as far as Bane got before he felt a hand clamping onto the top of his head, after which he knew only blackness as a callous and cold voice muttered. "That's enough out of you."

Releasing Bane's skull and allowing the heavily built man to collapse to the ground, there was a look of complete disinterest on Percy's face as he used his foot to turned Bane onto his back, after which he summoned more water from the air and cocooned the man from the neck down in a thick shroud of water, water which he then turn to ice, encasing him from the neck down in a thick, compact coffin of ice.

"What was that?!" Superboy hissed as he Aqualad and Miss Martian looked to Percy in shock.

"The same as I did to his men, only it's easier when I make physical contact." Percy shrugged, before he cocked an eyebrow when he saw that the clone didn't look satisfied by the answer. "The guy was going to betray us. Better we deal with him now quickly and quietly than wait for him to turn on us. Call it a pre-emptive strike, we deal with him now before he betrays us later and becomes a liability, and you can bet that he was going to betray us!"

"Percy's right, Bane might have been thinking in Spanish but I could sense the negativity of his thoughts." Miss Martina spoke up for him. With Superboy grudgingly nodding, as he heard the pretty green skinned girl speak up for Percy. "Though I'm not sure about taking him out now before he actually did anything?" She was a bit more uncertain on that point, it seemed a little… excessive.

"If we leave him in that ice for too long he could get frostbite of pneumonia." Aqualad stated, his blue eyes fixed on the ice encasing Bane, not so much perturbed by Percy's reasoning, as he was by Percy's methods, and pre-emptive strike.

"Then we better make sure we finish this mission quickly then. I would have put him in the earth if the floor weren't metal, but manipulating metal isn't really in my repertoire. Nor do any of us have any robe to tie him up, and I am certainly not letting someone like that walk around loose." Percy said sharply, looking down at his watch now before he looked around at the others. "Now come on, we can't tarry here, we have to go."

"You're right." Aqualad nodded, sending one more apprehensive look at the bound and unconscious Bane before he made to move. He wasn't entirely comfortable with this, but like Percy said they were in a rush, this was enemy territory and they were dealing with a highly dangerous organisation. There was no time for them to be standing around debating like this.

"Wait," Superboy hissed, making them freeze, only for him to grab Bane's frozen form and move him back into the tunnel, after which he forcibly closed the secret door, but not fully as he wedged it so it was still a fraction open. "Covert right? We don't want people just stumbling over him?"

"Good idea." Percy nodded to the clone, getting a nod and a slight smile in return as he did so. "Now let's go before the other two blow our cover."

With that said the remaining members of the team snuck through the factory, heading for the main hangar, with Megan, Superboy and Percy using their respective sensory abilities to guide them.

Ducking behind a pile of crates as they came to a more crowded part of the room, all four of them kept down low as they kept an eye on the activity going on in front of them.

"It looks like they are moving all the new shipment. None of the old shipment," Superboy muttered.

"Maybe freshness counts?" Suggested Miss Martian with a shrug.

"Freshness?" Percy asked dryly, his lips quirking upwards in amusement. With Miss Martian gained a light blush as she saw this.

"No, she may have a point." Aqualad cut in, looking to Miss Martian with a smile on his face. "She's shown she has good instincts before."

"Maybe, but although I can agree with you on Megan's instincts." Percy muttered, sending Miss Martina another smile. "But I don't think this is due to a case of freshness. No, I think there is something else at hand here."

"Helicopter," Superboy suddenly cut in, his head tilted as if he were listening to something, before he gestured for the others to look up.

"Come on, let's go." Aqualad said decisively, ducking down as he gestured for the others to follow him. "This must be our mystery buyer. Miss Martian, can you turn invisible and fly out there, and then send us a telepathic images of what's going on?"

M'gann nodded as she heard that, after which she turned invisible and shot off towards to the helicopter pad. The red haired Martian extending her mind as she did so, connecting to them in a noticeable manner so that all three of them could feel her in their minds.

 _'_ _Don't worry it's just me, I will only use feather light touches though, I promise.'_ Miss Martian's disembodied voice rang through their heads, making Superboy wince slightly, his hands tightening into fists for a moment, before he then took a deep breath and seemed to relax.

 _'_ _Okay, now can you project what you are seeing into our minds?'_ Percy asked mentally, still a bit leery on this whole telepathy thing himself. Though he would remain open minded, just as long as she didn't probe too deeply into their heads and touch on things she had no business knowing.

A few moments they all could hear the distinctive noise of helicopter blades as a large, military grade helicopter descended from the sky, lazily flying over the jungle before setting down on the landing pad. Its doors then opening to reveal a tall, heavily muscled man with short blonde hair, and what looked like a silvery, metallic hockey mask covering his face.

 **( - )**

 **(Elsewhere in the Factory)**

Robin didn't say a word or make a sound as he snuck along the top of a line of crates, his eyes narrowed behind his mask as he saw a Kobra cultist sitting at the console of a nearby computer juat a few feet in front of him and at ground level.

Pulling a specialised bat-a-rang out of his utility belt Robin threw it with pinpoint accuracy, piercing the ground at the cultist's feet and making the red cloaked man flinch back in surprise. That was all the man could do though, because moments later gas sprayed out of the projectile, the unique chemical makeup of the gas rapidly, and painless robbing the cultist of consciousness.

Seeing this Robin darted forward, leaping soundlessly off of the crate as he alighted on the ground behind the now unconscious cultist, after which he pushed the knocked out Kobra follower to the floor and took his seat at the computer console. His eyes already narrowed in concentration as he began to type rapidly, hacking into the system as fast as he could.

This was where he thrived. Already he knew that it was this level of skill, experience and professionalism that set him aside from the other heroes in the team. The rest of them, they all lacked the technical know-how, the skill or the subtlety to do this kind of work, on top of which they were all so inexperienced. It almost made him cringe how they couldn't adapt to new situations, and quickly at that, with them instead just standing around dumbly.

Honestly they were amateurs, or at least three of them were. Though even Aqualad and Kid Flash, the two most experienced after him, hadn't seemed to have developed the instinctual knack needed to excel in this line of work. They too were both too slow on the uptake sometimes.

As for Superboy and Miss Martian, both of them relied too much on their powers. Which meant they lacked the skills to keep up, that and they were perhaps the most inexperienced of the lot, both in terms of hero work and life in general. Honestly they were both too naive, which considering their abilities was a dangerous mix.

And then there was Perseus. The guy had power, Robin could give him that much, but it was uncontrolled power. On top of which Percy was too irresponsible and emotionally immature, to Robin at least. The guy abused his power and threw his weight around when he wasn't getting his way. Yes, he was far too childish and immature, and although he clearly had skills, he like Superboy and Miss Martian relied too much on his variety of powers.

Which was another problem in itself, Percy was an unknown. Specifically his origins and abilities, Robin had already surmised he had a link to the Amazon's his relationship with Wonder Woman made that obvious. Perhaps he was a male Amazon, a genetic anomaly, an outcast on the island of Themyscira who was sent here to mature and make something of himself. Or maybe an Atlantean like Kaldur, just one who was brought up with the Amazon's for some reason, perhaps even because he was part Atlantean and part Amazon. That too could be a possibility, a very realistic on too.

Honestly the guy was a mystery, and a loose cannon as well. It was perhaps the worst mix he could be, and Robin didn't like it, nor did he really like him as a person. Still, he was a professional and the leader here, and this was his team, and as such he had to make the best of it. Really he just needed to find a way to make them recognise his authority, on top of which he needed to reign in the more impetuous members of the group; like Percy, Wally and Superboy.

"Find anything?" Kid Flash's voice suddenly interrupted Robin's thought process, making him twitch before he jerked round to see his old friend standing just behind him.

"I am decoding the system now," Robin replied, recovering quickly as he then continued to type, Kid Flash leaning forward to look at the console's screen as he did so. "Where are the others?"

"That is the original Venom formula." Said Kid Flash suddenly, ignoring Robin's question as he instead pointed at the screen, which was currently showing a new blue strand appear next to the purple Venom strand. "And that is… the Blockbuster formula by the looks of it. Wow, Kobra found a way to combine Venom and Blockbuster together. And by the looks of it, together the new drug is three times more potent, and permanent too." Kid Flash's eyes widened now. "How did Kobra get his hands on Blockbuster?"

Robin's eyes narrowed as he heard that. "The Buyer must also be the supplier." With that said he reached up to his ear to activate his emergency communication link, now they had more information it was time to call in help. "Robin to Red Tornado. We have… static."

Kid Flash frowned as he saw this, their communication was being blocked somehow. They were on their own.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what did you all think? I know I took my time with this one, but I am still trying to fully flesh out the characters and am especially taking time to do the interactions. That being said the next chapter will be fun, and I am kind of looking forward to writing it as I have a fun if loud and explosive idea! Either way the next chapter should be interesting.**

 **So yes I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and continue to read and support. On the topic of pairings which I touched on last chapter I have decided not to tag the pairings I would like, but I instead have decided to just name them in this AN. That being said these aren't final, they're more just interesting pairings which I could choose and which I think would be fun to develop.**

 **As I have said before I am going to let the story and the characters in it develop more before I finalise anything, as personally I find that trying to force things that are not meant to be can ruin a story. I have read a few that have been ruined in such a way, hell I have written and published a few that were ruined for that very reason.**

 **Still the two potential pairings, it probably won't be both, and it could be neither, that I am thinking is:**

 **Tula/ Aquagirl, I think there could be some fun drama, animosity and dynamics to explore there, as well as the way it would directly link Percy to Atlantis, plus she is a relatively undeveloped character which gives me room for my own creative interpretation.**

 **Or Dreamer, one of the New Gods. This of course would open up the interesting question of divinity and the differences between the two realities, as well as the differences in theology and philosophy, a romance between two different pantheons could be fun to explore. On top of which she too is a relatively undeveloped character which again would give me room for my own creative interpretation.**

 **Look them up online if you don't know who these two are.**

 **Either way those are two possible pairings I am pondering, but nothing is confirmed, and I am open to suggestions or other people's opinions, so long as the reasoning is good and they aren't being deliberately rude.**

 **But anyway, this is the update I hope you enjoyed it and leave a review. If you have time please check out my other stories too.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Greed720.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Hey all I am back after a couple of weeks break, and here is my newest chapter for my PJ/ DC stories. I hope you all enjoy the chapter and I appreciate all the support given so far, including all of the support for some of my potential pairing choices. On top of that I have received some brilliant PMs, some of which were incredibly in detail and are taking me a while to satisfactorily reply to, so please be patient.**

 **But yeah the support for this story has been brilliant, and hopefully it continues. I am still aiming to get to the top of the crossover section, after all I only just noticed I am second again. Not that that's a problem, or this is a competition of course.**

 **But yeah, thanks for reading and I hope you all continue to enjoy and leave reviews.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, or DC, and have in fact not gotten around to watching the third season of Young Justice yet.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"That is the original Venom formula." Said Kid Flash suddenly, ignoring Robin's question as he instead pointed at the screen, which was currently showing a new blue strand appear next to the purple Venom strand. "And that is… the Blockbuster formula by the looks of it. Wow, Kobra found a way to combine Venom and Blockbuster together. And by the looks of it, together the new drug is three times more potent, and permanent too." Kid Flash's eyes widened now. "How did Kobra get his hands on Blockbuster?"_

 _Robin's eyes narrowed as he heard that. "The Buyer must also be the supplier." With that said he reached up to his ear to activate his emergency communication link, now they had more information it was time to call in help. "Robin to Red Tornado. We have… static."_

 _Kid Flash frowned as he saw this, their communication was being blocked somehow. They were on their own._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 8**

 **( - )**

 **(On the factory's Helipad)**

Watching from mid-air, the invisible Martian looked on in interest as a large, military grade helicopter descended from the dark, cloudy sky and touched down on the facility's busy and bustling helipad.

All around the helipad Miss Martian could see red cloaked Kobra cultists moving around crates and stacking them up along one side of the platform, seemingly readying them for transport. To Miss Martian the helipad was a whirlwind of activity as the helicopter landed and its spinning blades began to slow down, all except for a small group that was standing patiently on one side of the platform, facing the helicopter, and clearly waiting for the person/ people inside the helicopter to step out and reveal themselves.

The most noticeable member of this small, yet eclectic, group, was a tall, very pale skinned man, one who stood nearly a foot taller than the other red cloaked cultists, with distinctly aristocratic features. This man, like many of the others, was wearing a red cloak, only his was far more ornate and gaudy than those around him, identifying him as the leader of the Cult, or at least this sect, that or it was possible he even was this Kobra person that the cult hailed as a god.

Standing on either side of Kobra, was a tall, skinny woman who looked to be in her early twenties, who had a distinctly punk like style, and a hulking, monstrous mass of muscle, with thick, dark hide, and bulbous bulging muscles, and a brutish, inhuman face. Both of whom were standing a step back from the tall, pale man, which to Miss Martian looked like a show of subservience.

Pushing out with her telepathic powers, Miss Martian gently probed the minds of those below, hoping to get a glimpse of what was going on. It was through this that she identified that the woman called herself Shimmer, and had a desperate longing for powers and abilities, the monstrous creature called himself Mammoth, and had once been a normal human, and finally that the tall, pale one was indeed Kobra.

Unfortunately though that was as much as she was able to glean, or at least whilst keeping her presence unnoticeable. After all if she had pushed further she could blow the whole mission, and tip the enemy off to the team's presence. Already the feather like touches she had already used were risky enough, after all she had had no idea whether or not any of those below might have psychic powers. That being said she had made a decosion and taken a risk, basing her choice off of the overall rarity of psychic powers here on earth.

 _'_ _What's going on Miss Martian?'_ Aqualad's voice sounded out loud and clear in M'gann's head.

 _'_ _The Helicopter has landed, and three individuals, Kobra, Shimmer, and Mammoth are waiting to receive whoever it is.'_ Megan replied, sending the thought through her connection to Aqualad, Percy, and Superboy's minds.

Ignoring as she did the distinctly odd feeling each of their minds had; with Superboy's mind coming across as distinctly convoluted and filled with raging emotions and tumultuous thoughts whirling around, in short his mind was a confused mess of basic instincts, anger and the ingrained desire to be a hero, to be like Superman.

Aqualad's mind however was far more ordered, but had a strange sharpness to it, something that was quite different to the usual murkiness of a normal human's mind, which may be due to his heritage as an Atlantean.

Percy's mind however was the strangest of all, it was vast and complex far more so than any other she had met here on earth, or even on Mars. And upon touching it M'gann could both feel and hear a sad, lonely, melodious music resounding from it. One which spoke of a complex mix of emotions, so complex even, that she couldn't even begin to pick them out or comprehend their meaning. Suffice to say his mind was both fascinating, and also intimidating and confusing, just being in contact with it made her feeling slightly nervous. To use an earth adage, it felt like she was poking a sleeping tiger.

 _'_ _Keep an eye on what's going on, but don't let yourself be seen. Can you beam us an image of what's going on?'_ Percy's voice rang out now, sounding out far louder and more audible than Aqualads.

 _'_ _Yes, I will open up the connection now, but be warned you must relax and surrender control for the moment, as otherwise it might cause you a headache if I do it for a prolonged amount of time whilst you unconsciously resist. This is effectively me shoving my own memories into your head, so please relax, all three of you.'_ Replied Megan carefully, wanting to make sure to warn them of what could happen, if they resisted. After all prolonged use of telepathy, and in depth use of it often caused headaches, especially if the person in question was unfamiliar to telepathy.

With that said Megan began pushing along her memory of what she was seeing, even as she watched as the door to the helicopter opened, and a large, heavily built man with short blonde hair and what looked like a metal hockey mask which completely covered his face and hid his facial features, stepped out of the transport, his cold, blue eyes flicking around the helipad cautiously as he did so.

 _'_ _That's Sportsmaster, he's a known assassin and mercenary, one the League has run into before. He's also probably one of the most deadly in the world, definitely in the top twenty.'_ Aqualad thought, relaying this information to the other three through the mind link.

 _'_ _So it would be safe to say he's dangerous, and likely very expensive. As such this operation, or whatever it is that's going on here, is probably lot bigger and more expansive than we thought. Especially if they have people like this Kobra and Sportsmaster working for them. From what I've seen and heard neither of these two are small fish.'_ Percy added in his own two cents, his eyes narrowed as he like the others saw through Megan's eyes, giving up some control over his mind as he allowed Megan to use the connection to show them what she saw.

"Lord Kobra," Sportsmaster nodded, the amusement in his tone evident as he left the helicopter and strode over the platform and over to the tall, red cloaked man and his brawny henchman and skinny henchwoman.

"Sportsmaster," greeted Kobra in turn, his thin lips curving up into a smirk, before with a simple gesture he had one of his nearby cloaked cultists run up towards the two. The man in question bringing with him a metal, reinforced suitcase, one which he lifted up and opened for the two other men.

Inside the suitcase Megan could see a single vial of purple liquid

"The new formula is ready. A perfectly balanced mix of Venom and the Blockbuster serum," Kobra said softly, his voice coming out in a sibilant hiss as he then gestured to the hulking, monstrosity that was stood to the side and slightly behind him. "Mammoth here is proof enough of its effectiveness. He is the first test product of the new formula. The first of many I hope."

Sportsmaster glanced over at the human turned monster curiously, after which he let out a slight chuckle. "Good, finally with this on our side we will be able to go man to man with the League."

 _'_ _So that's what they are up to But how did they get their hands on the Blockbuster formulae? Is this the same group behind Cadmus labs?'_ Aqualad thought to the others. ' _'Okay Miss Martian, that's enough, come back to us so we can make a plan of what to do next.'_

 _'_ _Ok, I'll be with you in a minute.'_ Megan replied, after which she turned and flew away, still invisible.

"Ok, so what is the plan?" Superboy asked, speaking aloud now as the other two looked over to him, even as Megan glided down until she was hovering a foot above the ground, her hood up, but her body now visible.

"Well first off we need to stop Sportsmaster from obtaining that new formula. After which we will then need to try and capture both Kobra, Sportsmaster and the rest of the villains present." Aqualad began, summarising their current positon, and their aims.

"Ok so how do we do that?" Megan nodded, understanding the goals as she did so.

"Hmm, I think we need to go further than that." Percy interrupted, his brow furrowed as he looked between the others. "This Venom thing, even before they changed the formulae, is a dangerous thing, with Blockbuster mixed in it's now probably even more dangerous. What we need to do is to stop production full stop, so that means destroying the facility."

"That goes beyond the mission's parameters." Aqualad replied, a frown on his face.

"So does direct confrontation, yet we're about to do it anyway." Percy retorted bluntly.

Aqualad frowned harder as he heard that, but said no more.

"Miss Martian, I need you to find Kid Flash and Robin, tell them what happened on the helipad and then help them to sabotage the facility. Meanwhile Aqualad, Superboy and I will take the fight to the enemy." Percy spoke quickly, any previous hesitancy he might have had in taking the lead fading now, as the danger and importance of their task become more evident.

Miss Martian glanced at the other two as she heard that, before she resolutely nodded and disappeared. "I'll do my best."

"Thanks, and try to stay in contact." Percy called quietly after her, as he felt her invisible form move through the air, her body although hidden now, still physical and therefore still causing the water molecules in the atmosphere to vibrate at her passing.

"So what about us? Do we just charge in?" Superboy asked bluntly, looking to Percy for answers now.

Percy shook his head in the negative. "The first thing we need to do is to destroy the helicopter. That is their transport and their likely escape route. Superboy, you're the fastest of the three of us, and with your durability you have the best chance of destroying the helicopter before it takes off or the villains stop you."

Superboy nodded curtly at that.

"Good, after that you should head for Sportsmaster or Kobra, with your abilities you would be the best to take one or other of them down." Percy continued, from what he had inferred Mammoth was a mountain of muscle, and was like incredibly durable too, if Superboy fought him it would likely just come down to a prolonged slugfest. The other two though, from what Aqualad had said were just normal men, or relatively normal at least.

"I will go for the prototype formulae in the case, I will try to secure it from whoever has it now, Batman will definitely want to study it." Aqualad stated bluntly, his water bearers already in his hands.

"That's a good call." Percy nodded, a slight smile on his face now as he met Aqualad's gaze, he might have been a bit harsh on the Atlantean and rushed to a judgement. From the looks of it the Atlantean had enough sense to not let his ego get the best of him, when another person called the shots. "Meanwhile I will take on Mammoth and try to deal with as many of the henchmen as I can."

"What if things do wrong?" Aqualad asked seriously.

"That's a possibility, and if it does happen then retreat and regroup. But hopefully that won't happen, we'll be going in with numerical inferiority, but we will have the element of surprise and the three of us all pack a punch, we're pretty much the tanks of the team and so should be able to do enough damage to throw them into disarray in the initial confrontation, after which is will just be a matter of mopping up the rest." Percy said quickly, pulling his black, Greek style helmet again, and drawing his sword.

Forming two blades of water from his water bearers, Aqualad sent Percy a nod, his gaze once again resting on the trident symbol on Percy's armour. Once again he wondered just what Percy was, and his origins. This guy was only a little older than him, and yet he spoke with an authority and experience that belied his tender age. On top of that his control over water was beyond Aqualad, and the others of his age like Tula and Garth, in fact it may even be on a par Queen Mera and the King, Aquaman's, control over water.

Aqualad shook his head at that, he was overestimating Perseus now, the other teen was strong and capable, but he wasn't that strong. He was a mystery, one who was connected with Wonder Woman, and the Amazons, and who proudly, maybe even arrogantly, bore the Trident of Poseidon, the god of the Sea, on his chest. But it was likely just because he was some bastard born child of an Amazon and an Atlantean, one with delusions of grandeur, or who had become arrogant due to his own, admittedly impressive, control over water.

But no, this was not the time for such musing. Perseus might be a little conceited, and have quite an abrasive personality, but he was a member of the team and had come up with a simple, yet effective plan, to take down the bad guys and hopefully put a stop to the production of Venom full stop.

"Right, let's go!" Superboy muttered into the few moments of silence that followed, clenching his hands into fists as he did so, before he turned and ran towards to the helicopter and still conversing Villains.

"You heard him." Percy shrugged, his lips quirking upwards in amusement, after which he ran after Superboy, his sword in one hand, and a recently conjured spear of ice in his other.

Aqualad frowned at this, before he simply shrugged and chased after the other two. His teeth gritted as he heard shouts and exclamations of shock form the helipad as Superboy made his entrance. The sound of which was soon followed by the sound of shattering glass and crumbling metal, and then a loud explosion as Superboy obviously completed his first task in record time.

 **( - )**

 **(Inside the facility)**

Clicking his tongue impatiently, Kid Flash waited as Robin continued to download as much data as he could from the facility's computer network, his green eyes flicking back and forth around the rest of the room as he looked around for any sign of one of the cultists that had taken over the factory. Keeping lookout whilst his 'teammate' ripped as much as he could from the villain's system.

This missions, their first one as a proper team, it was not going how he planned. Already they had split up, both him and Robin going off on their own, breaking away from the others for their own reasons, leaving the rest of the team to do their own thing.

Looking back on it now, Wally knew it was not right, and a boneheaded decision on their parts. The team as a whole had not had much of a plan coming into the mission, and on top of that they had no real leader. Even now Wally knew they should have sorted out this whole leadership business before the mission started.

After all the mission had turned into a fiasco as they all squabbled over who was in charge. Wally himself knew he was guilty of that much, in the beginning he had wanted to be leader, he had wanted to prove himself to both the Flash and the other members of the League. He had seen this team as an opportunity, a platform for him to reach new heights and hopefully, someday soon, gain full membership to the Justice League.

That had been the wrong way to approach this whole team thing. Already he knew he had proven himself not worthy of being leader, neither he nor Robin were worthy of the honour. Both of them had allowed their own egos to get the best of them and gone off on their own, leaving Aqualad alone with the three newbies. An issue which was compounded by the fact that they were currently on a very dangerous, and supposedly covert, mission.

In short both Wally and Robin had fucked up, and now the others were who knows where, maybe even in mortal peril, whilst the two of them were here.

That being said they were at least collecting useful data, data that Batman and the League would probably be pretty grateful to get their hands on when all was said and done.

"Right it's almost done." Robin suddenly spoke up, with a self-satisfied grin on his face, as he looked down at the holographic screen on his handheld computer, watching as the download bar reached ninety two percent.

"Cool, I mean yeah that's good, but we're going to need to head off soon to find the others." Wally replied, already thinking on just what kind of trouble they had gotten themselves into. No doubt Superboy had rushed head first into danger shouting and bellowing in anger, the impulsive clone once again acting without a second thought for anyone else.

Megan too had probably lost her head already, this was her first proper mission, and without someone there to take her hand she was probably freaking out. Aqualad after all, although a decent and reliable guy, well he had the emotional range of a tea spoon. He probably didn't even realise how freaked out Megan probably was right now, and probably didn't have the first clue how to approach calming her down. He was hardly good with the ladies after all.

Then there was Perseus, he at least Wally was confident could take care of himself. The guy had power in spades, and seemed capable enough. Sure he was more like a vigilante than a hero at the moment in terms of his tactics and inclination towards violence, but he at least was experienced in combat. Being covert though, well that didn't really seem to be his thing. Already Wally had visions of the older teen wandering around like a bull in a china shop, fighting any henchman he could find, probably alerting half the island to their presence as he did so without realising it.

"Right, it's done. So come on then, let's go find the others. Now I've collected the data we need, I now just need to go take command again, and then hopefully lead them off of the island, I mean who knows how much trouble they've gotten themselves into without us there eh, Kid. I bet Aqualad is going spare trying to keep those rookies in check until we return." Robin grinned, disconnecting his device from the computer now, after which he turned to Wally still grinning confidently.

"You still reckon you're the leader then?" Kid Flash asked carefully, cocking an eyebrow at the younger kid's little speech, the Boy Wonder had hardly been subtle in the way he phrased his words. It was obvious he was trying to enforce the 'fact' he was leader on him.

"Well obviously, I'm the best choice for it. The only choice really." Robin replied, his smile fading slightly, and a slight frown spreading across his face as he saw the expression on Kid Flash's face. "I have the most experience and training, Batman's practically been grooming me for this positon. Just as he is pretty much the leader of the Justice League, so too will I be the leader of this team. Or at least I will until I become a full member of the Justice League."

"Look dude, yeah you have a lot of crime fighting experience, more than either Aqualad or me, I'm not denying that. But come on man, you have pretty much no leadership experience." Replied Kid Flash bluntly, holding back on his response to Robin's assertion that Batman was pretty much the leader of the Justice League, after all he was one of the leaders, along with the other original members, but not the one and only leader as Robin seemed to be implying. "I mean when you work with Batman he's in charge, and your roles are defined, you don't need to speak, you just do what he taught you to do and follow his lead. This team though, well dude you said it yourself, this team is new and has a number of rookies in is, and are kind of inexperienced when it comes to working together. The leader needs to be vocal and clearly give orders."

"So what I have to play babysitter?!" Retorted Robin, his temper flaring now and his eyes narrowing. "That's rubbish, and you know it. You just want to be leader yourself, that's why you're saying this!"

"No dude, as much as I want to say I'd run rings round you, I can't. I'm here too after all, I am no more suited to being leader than you are." Kid Flash replied, keeping his cool, even if the younger boy seemed to be losing his. "Aqualad is the right choice and you know it. He's the oldest, the most rational, he has experience and what's more is he stayed back to look after the others while we just ran off on our own."

Robin scowled at that, his mouth working as if he were trying to come up with something to say to that. Finally though, after a few moments of silence he spoke, his tone bordering on petulant mockery. "So when did you suddenly become so mature?"

Kid Flash's lips quirked upwards at that question. "I've not, I just took the time to think about what we've been doing, and then compare it to Aqualad. The three of us are the most experienced here, it is up to use to mentor the other three. You and I, we dropped the ball and you know it, Aqualad though, he didn't. He's the right choice for leader and you know it!"

Robin's expression was still petulant as he heard that, even as he opened his mouth to reply. Before he could however, both of them were jolted out of their current thought process and conversation when Megan appeared from mid-air right in front of them.

"I found you!" Shouted out M'gann in delight as she appeared.

"Miss Martian, what are you doing here?" Kid Flash asked, for once forgetting to flirt as he instead just sent her a confused and surprised look, restraining himself from jumping back in shock. He might have forgotten to flirt, but he still had enough wherewithal to keep his cool in front of the pretty, red haired girl.

"The others sent me to find you, they identified the buyer as Sportsmaster, and the seller is Kobra himself. They are preparing to apprehend them as we speak." Miss Martin summarised for them, briefly explaining a little more about what they had seen and what the others had planned. "They wanted me to find you, and then clue you in on what's happening. After which I am supposed to help you blow up the facility."

"Wait they are about to fight the bad guys now!" Robin shot back, his tone rising and a hint of frustrated anger leaking into his voice.

"Ermm, yes, Perseus, Aqualad and Superboy are going to deal with them as we speak. We meanwhile need to destroy the facility to stop Venom from being produced here anymore, or the new formulae." M'gann replied, confused over why she needed to repeat herself. From what she had seen both of the two boys were quite clever, and Robin especially seemed quite intuitive.

"That can wait, for now we need to go back them up. Sportsmaster and Kobra are no joke, both of them are heavy hitters, and this Mammoth guy sounds like trouble too!" Robin responded, already turning away and running in the direction of the helipad.

"But wait, we're supposed to destroy the factory." Megan called after him.

"The building isn't going anywhere Miss Martian, but the others could be in real danger. Robin has the right idea, we need to go help them first before anything!" Kid Flash replied, glancing sideways at Megan and giving her a tight smile as he did so, before a few moments later he shot off in a black and grey blur.

"I don't think…" Megan tried to say, only to find she was speaking to thin air as the other two had disappeared, both of them already heading for the helipad.

"I don't think Percy is going to be happy." She then muttered, from what she had felt of Percy's mind he was unpredictable in his own actions, but resolute and unmoving when it came to those around him disobeying him or acting out. It was hypocritical in a way, sort of like him saying 'do what I say and not what I do'. But at the same time, Megan had touched his mind and somehow understood that he had become this way through many trials and tribulations, and countless years of hard-won experience.

It was hard to put into words what she had felt when she touched Percy's mind really, but what she could definitely say was that he was not entirely human. No, he was something else, something powerful, weary, and wrathful. On top of that he was something that was distinctly inhuman, and not in the way Aqualad was, he was far more dangerous than that.

Yet in spite of this, she didn't find herself scared or put off by him, and that was because deep down, very deep down, she had felt the immense kindness in him, his fierce sense of loyalty, and the selfless, sometimes ruthless, desire to do good.

"Yes, he's definitely going to be pissed." Megan nodded to herself before she looked around, she had none of Robin's explosives, or the technical know-how of how to demolish a building. With that in mind she took to the air once more and shot off back to the helipad. If she could do nothing here, the least she could do was help out the others the best she could.

 **( - )**

 **(A few minutes before, back at the Helipad)**

It was whilst Percy, Aqualad and Superboy made their plan, that the cultists on the helipad got to work moving the new 'Kobra Venom' onto the helicopter. All of the cloaked men and women moving quickly and silently as they dutifully went about their work.

Sportsmaster meanwhile was off to one side, and continued to converse with Kobra, already obtaining and then transferring electronically the new formulae over to his bosses. After all in his line of business it was good to be thorough and build safeguards into ones plan.

However, it was as Sportsmaster was overseeing the transfer of the payment for the job to Kobra, that all activity on the helipad was stopped when a sudden roar sounded out from the surrounding forest, which was then swiftly followed by a tall, well-built, teenaged boy, who was clad in a black, superman T-shirt, and had short black hair and blue eyes, erupting out of the foliage and charging the platform.

With the boy in question erupting onto the helipad without warning, still bellowing as he rapidly charged across the area, bulling through several red cloaked men and women who got in his way as he ran. Though not at Kobra or Sportsmaster like one might expect, but instead at the helicopter.

"Stop him!" Sportsmaster roared, pulling out an extendable javelin from his belt as he did so, even as he turned on his heel and flung it at the charging teen's back. Not that it did much good as the javelin, despite striking him square in the back, just ended up bouncing off of the boy's back, the tip bent at an angle.

"We're under attack!" Kobra snarled loudly, looking to both Shimmer and Mammoth as he did so, both of whom started running forward at his unspoken command, Mammoth raising his fists and Shimmer drawing a high-tech gun. "Everyone on guard!"

The rest of the cultists reacted similarly, most of them going for their weapons as they reacted almost on instinct to Kobra's tone.

Not that it did them much good, as by the time they did have their guns out and trained on the teen, Superboy had already reached the helicopter, meeting it in a brutal shoulder barge which crumpled the aircraft's metal shell and shattered the windows. The blow incidentally knocking the entire thing over onto its side, which in turn caused the helicopter's engine to explode as he did so.

Following on from that, two more assailants burst out of the nearby forest, one of them a dark skinned teen with blonde hair and blue eyes. A teen who was wielding two blades which were made out of water, and who charged straight for Sportsmaster the moment he arrived on the scene, his sharp blue eyes locked on the case that the assassin still held in his left hand.

The other attacker meanwhile was a tall, broad-shouldered, black armoured figure, who was wearing a black helmet which had a bladed fin on top. With this attacker also holding an ivory coloured longsword in one hand, and a spear of what looked like ice in the other. A spear which he threw the moment he appeared, the six foot projectile tearing through the air with a vengeance tagging Kobra, who stood some twenty metres away, in the shoulder as he did so. The spear catching the red cloaked man in the shoulder even as he moved to dodge, the weapon drawing blood, cracking bone and tearing through muscle, even as it glanced off of the man's bone.

Ignoring the arrival of the other two, Superboy continued to trash the helicopter. His super strength coming in handy here as he wrenched one of the blades off of it, kicking the now burning structure away as he did so and into the nearby forest, even as he turned around and smashed the charging Mammoth in the side of the head with the purloined helicopter blade. An action that crumbled the blade and bent it nearly in two, even as it sent Mammoth staggering away.

"Kill them! Kill them!" Kobra shouted, clasping his bloody shoulder with one hand, his voice verging on frantic now, even as the cultists opened fire on the three heroes.

Running forwards Aqualad darted back and forth, manoeuvring himself in such a way that it made it difficult for the gun wielding cultists to get a lock on him. Even as he darted towards Sportsmaster, the hockey masked man in question letting loose a snarl of his own, before without a word he pulled out another extendable javelin and began duelling with the sidekick he recognised as Aqualad.

Sportsmaster's skill, ferocity and superior experience clashing with Aqualad's tenacity and ever shifting weapons, as he turned his swords to maces, and then to hammers, and then back to swords as he continuously went on the attack. With the dark skinned boy moving in close to minimise Sportsmaster's use of the javelin, hammering away at the larger man as he forced him to back off taking advantage of the fact he only had one hand to fight with, as the other was clutching the case containing the Kobra serum.

Percy meanwhile had not just stood around, instead he rushed forward, his blade swinging up as he batted away a couple of bullets with his sword, though a few did get passed him and glanced off of his armour.

Whilst he did this he raised his spare hand, drawing on the water in the humid air, gathering it around himself like a cloak as he did so. With him using it to increase his physical abilities and provide some extra protection, even as he continued to gather more water from the surrounding area.

While he did this though the cultists continued their assault, sheltering behind the crates now as they trained their guns primarily on Percy, who despite being in the open, was still able to dodge and deflect most of their shots due to the sudden increase in speed and agility he gained from his ever growing cloak of water.

At the back of this group of a dozen or so gunmen, Kobra too took up his own positon, leading from behind. His cold eyes narrowed angrily as he glowered at Percy, even as he used one of his hands to staunch the blood running down one of his arms.

"Finish him you fools!" Kobra hissed to his followers, his sibilant voice still touching on frantic as he saw Percy was still moving forwards.

"Hyah!" Percy roared in response, shifting forwards as he did so in a half run, his right leg raised for a moment before he brought it down onto the concrete beneath him. An action that took those around him by surprise, as the moment his foot struck the ground, the concrete beneath his feet shattered, and a shock wave shot through the area. Concrete shattering and many of those in the immediate vicinity losing their footing as a sudden, localised earthquake hit the immediate area.

Not pausing for even a moment to admire his handiwork, Percy rushed forward, moving far faster than normal now as he cleared the distance from himself to his attackers. After which, with barely a thought, he drew on his Demigod abilities once more, this time manipulating the water cloak around him as he caused it to explode outward in a single wave of freezing cold mist, dozens of icy spikes forming as they shot through the air and brutally impaled the surrounding cultists.

The red cloaks and bare flesh providing little resistance as six inch long spikes of hardened, razor sharp ice tore through them, impaling the surrounding men and women. Though noticeably none of the points of entry were immediately fatal. Not even the ones that struck Kobra, with two spikes of ice going through his legs, one of which at least cracked, if not shattered, one of his kneecaps. With several others striking him in the arms, chest and gut.

Looking around at all the groaning and moaning people around him, Percy filtered out the sound of Sportsmaster and Aqualad fighting, and of Superboy clashing with Mammoth, despite Percy having told him not to get caught up in a slugfest.

Instead he focused on the metallic, coppery scent of blood, he could almost taste it. More than that he could feel it flowing beneath the skin of all those around him, and could sense the quickening beat of their hearts as they panicked, pain wracking their fragile mortal bodies.

Narrowing his eyes, Percy clenched his left hand into a fist. These men around him were just normal humans, humans who had bloody wounds.

In response to this the shards of ice melted, even as the water that they once consisted of forced itself into their bodies. Normally he found it quite a strain to manipulate the water inside multiple large, living creature's bodies, but once the skin had been broken, and the blood spilled it became so much easier. Though he also found that physical contact with the person in question made it a lot easier too.

In fact it was almost scary how easy it became, honestly it sometimes made Percy think that mortals were little more than fleshy sacks of blood and water, just waiting around to be controlled and manipulated. It was that lingering thought, that realisation that was perhaps the scariest of all to him.

Pushing his concerns aside, Percy took control of Kobra, Shimmer and Kobra's follower's blood, quickly putting pressure on the blood vessels in their brains as he starved them of blood and oxygen.

Within moment all of the red cloaked figures were slumped over unconscious.

Smiling slightly at this, Percy then twisted his hand again, this time clotting up all of their wounds. He wasn't a complete bastard after all.

"A bit of help would be appreciated!" Superboy's harsh voice sounded out, knocking Percy out of his thoughts as the teen in question flew by and smashed into a nearby crate. A scowl prominent on his face as he got up and looked to Percy for a moment, before looking back to the roaring and snarling Mammoth.

"Help Aqualad, break Sportsmaster legs if you can so he can't run off or escape." Percy replied quickly, nodding to Superboy as he did so, even as he pulled his helmet off and threw it to one side, his grip on his sword tightening as he started to run towards Mammoth. An action that the giant, musclebound monstrosity copied.

Superboy frowned at Percy's words for a moment, only to shrug a few seconds later. Not too bothered about Percy stepping into his fight with Mammoth, after all the older, dark haired teen had admittedly made a good point when he stated that Mammoth and Superboy were poorly matched.

With that in mind Superboy turned and ran over to where Aqualad and Sportsmaster were still fighting, both of them rapidly dancing around one another, stuck in a stalemate. Or at least they were, right up until Superboy tackled the assassin from behind slamming him into the floor at Aqualad's feet, momentarily catching the Atlantean off guard, but just for a moment, as seconds later he moved to disarm Sportsmaster and take the metal case from him.

"Thanks for the assist." Aqualad nodded, a tight smile on his face now.

"No problem, we're teammates after all aren't we." Replied Superboy, a slight smile on his face as he continued to hold the struggling and swearing Sportsmaster down with ease. His smile not fading even when he raised his fist and thumped him in the back of the head, maintaining enough strength in the blow to smash the assassin's masked face into the ground and knock him out cold. It was almost cathartic really, plus it was probably better that he unleash his anger on his enemies as oppose to his allies.

"Was that really necessary?" Aqualad asked dryly, even as Superboy pushed himself up and to his feet.

"Well it was either that, or break his legs so he can't escape." Superboy replied with a shrug.

Aqualad sighed softly as he heard that, after which he looked around. "I feel like you have been spending too much time with Perseus, speaking of which, where is he?"

"Over there fighting the last of them, Mammoth." Superboy grunted, gesturing over to the nearby fight, with both him and Aqualad turning to watch as it came to an end.

With Percy dancing around the large, lumbering villain, his sword practically a blur as he jabbed and slashed at his opponent. His bone sword slicing through Mammoth's thick hide with ease, drawing dark, black looking blood as Percy first hamstrung him, and then landed two devastating slashes on each shoulder, putting the former human's large brawny arms out of action. Following on from which he landed another double slash to Mammoth's chest, which was then followed by a devastating punch to the badly wounded being's head.

With this punch packing more than a little power, as a shockwave of energy erupted from his clenched fist as it made contact. The wave of energy reminding Superboy very much of the punch Percy had thrown when the two of them had fought in Cadmus.

"I think we seriously need to get a handle on everyone's powers." Aqualad muttered as he heard the crunch of bone, and saw Mammoth's eyes roll into the back of his skull, even as he fell backwards and crashed into the ground unconscious and badly injured.

"Hn!" Superboy grunted, disinterestedly, his attention instead moving to a grey and black blur that appeared on the helipad moments later, with Robin and the now visible Miss Martian following along closely behind.

 **( - )**

 **(A few moments later)**

"What are you three doing here? Have you set up the explosives in the factory?" Percy asked bluntly as he wiped the blood off of his sword, using Mammoth's shorts to do so, before he then strode towards the three newly arrived heroes. Catching the look of rising outrage on Robin's face as he did so. "And before you have a tantrum Wonder Boy nobody is dead. They are however all unconscious, or incapacitated, and ready to be transported to prison."

"Woah, you three took them all out!? That's impressive man!" Kid Flash spoke up next, a wide grin on his face as he looked around, taking in all of the prone bodies, the shattered helipad and the burning and destroyed helicopter.

"Thank you, but you did not answer Perseus's question. Have you set the facility to explode?" Aqualad cut in, his tone blunt and to the point.

"Ermm sorry man, but no. We kind of rushed over here to help when we heard you were fighting." Kid Flash replied shiftily.

"I see." Percy's voice was quite cold as he spoke up, his sea green eyes equally as scold as he looked around at the newly arrived trio, sheathing his sword as he did so.

"We made a call on the information we had at hand, we deemed it more important to back up our friends than to blow up a building." Retorted Robin, his tone still notably petulant and resentful as he looked around and saw that all the actions was over.

"I can accept that decision." Aqualad nodded his head, looking to the still frowning Percy now.

"Your loyalty is admirable." Percy finally said, his tone quite dry, after which he looked to Megan his expression lightening considerably. "M'gann can you bring your Bioship around?"

Megan nodded at that.

"Kid Flash, you, Superboy and Aqualad head to the facility and get Bane and any other henchmen in the area, incapacitate them and bring them back here." Percy continued, looking to Kid Flash and Aqualad now, all three of whom shared a look, before Aqualad and Superboy nodded and headed off to do as Percy asked, with Kid Flash looking at the other two in surprise, after which he sent Percy a speculative look, before he then nodded and ran after the other two.

"Hey who put you in charge?" Robin complained, his brow furrowed as he saw the others following Percy's instruction.

"Robin tie up Kobra, Mammoth and Sportsmaster. We'll be taking them with us when we leave. Tie up the rest of them too actually, we'll contact Batman before we leave and arrange a prisoner transport to pick these lot up too." Percy replied bluntly, ignoring his complaints as he gave Robin his best wolf stare, cowing the younger boy when he made to complain, with him instead, grudgingly, setting about tying up the villains Percy mentioned.

"The Bioship is here." Megan told Percy, a slightly smile on her face as she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Good, I need you to start using your telekinesis to load the tied up villains in your ship if you can. In fact can you shift the internal shape of the ship to make a cell?" Percy asked, looking up at the living space ship as it descended to the ground. Ignoring as he did Kid Flash as he reappeared on the broken platform with the first of the henchmen.

"On it." Megan nodded, turning to her ship as she set about fulfilling Percy's request.

 **( - )**

 **(Sometime later)**

Looking around the shattered platform, eyeing up all the cases of modified venom that they had now destroyed, Percy watched as Superboy dragged the last of the Kobra cultists and Bane's men onto the platform, with Robin and Kid Flash then tying them up.

In the end they had gathered a group of forty eight henchmen, all of whom were now bound and waiting in the centre of the ruin helipad to be picked up and shipped off to a cell.

Mammoth, Kobra and Bane meanwhile were all bound, trussed up and still unconscious, with all of them having been put in the Bioship now, in a new cell Megan had had the ship create for that exact purpose.

"Is that the last of them?" Percy asked as he looked over to Aqualad.

"That we can find, yes." Aqualad nodded.

"Good, right all of you need to get on the Bioship. We'll be heading off in a few minutes and going back to the base." Percy replied, a slight smile on his face now, as he looked to the rest of the team, all of whom had been working well together over the last half an hour or so, save of course for the still truculent Robin.

"What about the facility though?" Megan asked, looking over to the large factory complex as she did so.

"I'll deal with that." Percy replied easily, sending her a larger smile as he did so, before he then walked past the group, his attention fix on the factory.

"And what are you going to do?" Aqualad asked warily.

"Well destroy it of course." Percy replied, after which he crouched down and laid both hands on the ground.

"Ermm, mate, what are you doing?" Asked Kid Flash bemusedly. The others looking on in confusion too as Percy ignored the question.

A minute or so later though they got their answer as quite suddenly the earth beneath their feet began to start shaking. The trees around the edge of the forest quivering, with some of them falling over, the earth around them noticeably cracking.

Then, suddenly and without warning the factory collapsed, the earth beneath it exploding upwards, great spikes of earth tearing through the structure, even as other parts of the ground caved in.

Overall it was chaos as the entire island began to shake, the earth churning as Percy manipulated it. Until over the course of a few minutes the entire factory soon disappeared beneath the ground, completely swallowed up.

Standing up a few moments later, Percy absentmindedly dusted off his hands, admiring his handiwork for the moment, before he then turned and walked passed the thunderstruck looking members of his team.

"Right, now that's done let's be going." Percy said, his voice filled with amusement as he entered the Bioship, more than aware that the eyes of the entire team were now on him.

"Like seriously man, just what the fuck are you?" Kid Flash asked into the silence that followed.

 **( - )**

 **(Sometime later, back at Mount Justice)**

"A simple recon mission. Observe and report that was allt hat was asked of you." Batman said to the gathered team as they stood together in a group in the main hall of the cave, all of them now wearing civilian's clothes as oppose to their costumes.

"Circumstances changed." Percy replied bluntly, speaking up for the team as he met Batman's glare head on. "We merely adapted and made the best of a bad situation, and because of this three villains are now enjoying their stay in Belle Reve, and the Venom producing operation on Santa Prisca has been stopped for the foreseeable future. It is a win win situation really."

Batman didn't say anything to that at first, instead he gazed intensely at the assembled team, causing all of them save Percy to squirm.

After a few moments though he finally replied. "You'll each be given a written report detailing your mistakes. But until then… good job." Batman said, his words catching all of them off guard. "No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to unforeseen circumstances is what determines success."

Percy nodded at that, his gaze not leaving Batman's as he saw the analytical look in the older looking man's eye. The man was obviously curious bordering on suspicious of Percy now, especially after the reports Robin had probably given him.

In fact Percy had no doubt that in the coming days one or other of the League members would attempt to pin him down to talk about his abilities and origins.

Already he was planning on ringing up Diana, as he needed to talk to the woman, after all she was someone who understood him far better than most.

He had no doubt that she would have some good advice for him in regards to how he could approach the upcoming confrontations he would likely be having.

 **( - )**

 **(Elsewhere, in an unknown location)**

In an unknown location, the board of Cadmus each appeared on screens, all of them appearing before their leader, the one who had called for the impromptu meeting.

"The operation on Santa Prisca has failed. The samples Sportsmaster attempted to secure are gone, and our agent himself is now imprisoned." The leader of the Light stated bluntly the moment the others appeared, his tone harsh, the anger in it obvious for all to hear. "Fortunately he is loyal to the Light and has kept his mouth shut, on top of which he at least managed to get a copy of the formulae off of Kobra and confirmed that it worked. The operation might have failed but all is not lost."

"The loss of Sportsmaster will be an irritating set back, we'll need to replace him sooner rather than later." Another member of the Light replied, his tone calm and controlled. "And what of our young heroes?"

"First Cadmus, then Mister Twister. Now Santa Prisca." Another Light member said. "Their interference is becoming a pain."

"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. But three times is enemy action, and enemies of the Light will not stand." The leader of the Light said, his tone uncompromising.

"More concerning however is this new hero, this Perseus. His abilities and origins are unknown, but his power and ruthlessness are not in doubt." Another one of the Light members replied, this one female. "He is an unknown variable, and unknown variables are dangerous."

"Indeed, he could be an issue. Or he could be an asset. Either way he will see the Light… or he will be removed from the game, permanently." The leader of the Light finished, his deep, harsh tone holding a deadly edge to it now.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what did you all think? I hope you enjoyed it? Originally I wanted Percy to go all Poseidon on Santa Prisca and sink the island beneath the sea, but then I thought, hmm maybe that would be a little too far. Still I am pretty happy with this chapter and how it ends the team's first mission. After all it takes more than one successful mission to make a team, it takes time, and at the moment this group hasn't been together for that long.**

 **Still I am looking forward to progressing the story, on top of which I am already planning on bringing in some other DC story lines that I enjoy, plus I will be going into greater depth in regards to Atlantis and the New Gods then I feel they did in Young Justice. On top of that in answer to a few questions I have had, Percy's back story, his time in Tartarus, his meeting with the Amazons, these will continue to be revealed as the story progresses.**

 **On a completely unrelated note though, I have an observation that I am curious about. What is people's obsession with giving their male main characters katanas, and really long hair? I mean I don't understand why this is? Long hair is impractical and perhaps controversially I don't like katanas, nor do I think they are the best swords in the world, in fact I can think of many better types of swords which are far less specialized both eastern and western.**

 **Honestly it doesn't bother me greatly, it's just I read a Game of Thrones/ Naruto fanfic recently, as I am quite a fan of GoT, and read how the main character was walking around with a valerian steel katana. I mean sure it's the authors choice and their right to decide, but to me it just seems so silly and stupid.**

 **Sorry for the sort of rant, it's just I've always found people's obsession with these cliché things a bit odd.**

 **But yeah otherwise thanks a lot for reading and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and leave a review.**

 **Catch you all later.**

 **Greed720.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: So here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it. I was initially going to update my PJ/GoT story, but I have put that on pause as I want to see how the series ends first, I've mixed feeling about it so far, especially that bullshit with the 'Long Night' (or rather single evening). I was also going to update my PJ/ Avatar story, but have only planned out and outlined the chapter, before I got distracted by this. I am really enjoying writing it at the moment, I hope you are enjoying reading it too.**

 **Thanks a lot for reading, please do leave a review.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or DC.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"First Cadmus, then Mister Twister. Now Santa Prisca." Another Light member said. "Their interference is becoming a pain."_

 _"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. But three times is enemy action, and enemies of the Light will not stand." The leader of the Light said, his tone uncompromising._

 _"More concerning however is this new hero, this Perseus. His abilities and origins are unknown, but his power and ruthlessness are not in doubt." Another one of the Light members replied, this one female. "He is an unknown variable, and unknown variables are dangerous."_

 _"Indeed, he could be an issue. Or he could be an asset. Either way he will see the Light… or he will be removed from the game, permanently." The leader of the Light finished, his deep, harsh tone holding a deadly edge to it now._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 9**

 **( - )**

 **(Ten months ago, in Tartarus)**

 _His body was aching, not just from the gnawing hunger in his gut, but also due to the many wounds, cuts, abrasions and bruises that littered his dirty, blood and gold dust encrusted form._

 _He'd found it again, finally after what felt like decades, he had finally found the ever moving, ever shifting Gates of Tartarus._

 _A relieved smile spread across Percy's face at that thought, even as he placed his hand on the warm, yet twisted and demonic looking metal that made up the door._

 _The last time he had found the door, he had been forced to retreat. At the time there had been far too many monsters gathering around it, fighting and battling for access to the doors as they always did whenever it appeared, as well as a Titan and two fallen gods._

 _The odds had not been in his favour, and after a brutal battle he had only just managed to escape with his life._

 _Several weeks or so of recovery later and the door had of course already disappeared as he knew it would, it didn't tend to stay around for long. Suffice to say Percy had spent the next few months venting his frustrations and anger out on any monster unlucky enough to cross his path, after which he once again set off looking for the door._

 _But now he had found it. Not only that though, but he had also fought and butchered the other denizens of Tartarus who had also found it. Which was helped by the fact that this time there were only a couple of dozen lesser foes to face at the moment, and no gods or Titans to deal with._

 _Percy grinned wildly at this thought, he had made it. After nearly a century he had not only found the doors, he had also got to them too and was now in a positon to use them. Now it was only a matter of forcing his way through them, and out of Tartarus and onto the other side._

 _His hand reached up and clasped the broken bronze hilt of Anaklumous, which was still looped in his hide belt, at that thought. The familiar grip soothing him as he took in deep, ragged breaths. The sword had been a trustworthy companion to him for many years, but even so the godlessness of Tartarus had taken its toll. The blade had shattered, breaking off inside of the guts of one of his foes, faithful to the end though the blade had still managed to reap his enemy's life at least._

 _This had of course happened a long time ago, decades in fact, and since then he had picked up and acquired many other weapons. Swords, spears, halberds, warhammers, maces, axes, he looted them from the enemies he killed, or found them in stashes at the occasional alter, but in the never-ending maelstrom of war, death and chaos in the pit, none of these weapons lasted long._

 _His most recent acquisition was surprisingly not one of the ones he had scavenged, instead the giant of war, Damasen the Bane of Ares, had crafted him the sword on commission. With it having been forged from the bones of a Drakon, and designed and crafted to perfectly match Percy's own style of fighting._

 _On top of that his old friend had also managed to scavenge a Celestial Bronze cuirass which had he also buffed up, before he then handed it over to Percy, in return for some of the loot and spoils the Demigod had acquired over the last few years of course. Nothing was free down in the Pit after all._

 _Still it was worth it, as the additional protection of the cuirass, when added to Percy's Nemean lion skin jacket and the Celestial Bronze cuirass and greaves he had previously acquired, he was now very well protected._

 _Pushing those thoughts aside for the moment, Percy instead braced himself on the ground, after which he started to push on the doors. Ignoring the pain in his arms and back, and the way the rocky ground below him shifted and cracked, as he instead pushed, tectonic shock waves erupting from his palms as he did so causing the gates to rattle, shake and lurch._

 _With a groan the giant doors began to move._

 _Gritting his teeth, Percy drew upon more and more energy, bolstering his strength as much as he was able as he continued to push, the gates still slowly, but steadily, centimetre by centimetre, opening._

 _From behind him, far in the distance, he could hear roaring, shouting, and shrieks, along with the tell-tale tramp and clomp of monsters approaching._

 _He was running out of time. Soon enough this place would be swarming with more monsters, and not just the common variety. Giants, Titans, gods and the ancient eldritch monsters of old, all of them would be heading here as they always did the moment the doors new location got out. It wasn't often that the door appeared, once every few years, and when it did it was always in an isolated location and only for a few hours, hence the rush to get here and then the battle over momentary ownership._

 _Forcing the doors open, Percy for once was very grateful for having a human sized body. It made it much easier for him to force himself through the small crack he had created, as oppose to needing to have the doors fully open. Which was especially useful as it had taken nearly everything he had to open the door the silver he had._

 _He dreaded to think how long it would take to fully open the door, if it were possibly for him to do so at all, which considering the size, weight and nature of the door he very much doubted._

 _Still he was through. Casting one last look back at the barren landscape of Tartarus, Percy couldn't help but feel a strange sense of melancholy, even as he saw the horde of charging, squabbling, fighting monsters appear in the distance._

 _He had spent over a century in Tartarus by his reckoning, and in that time he had lost the girl he loved, Annabeth. Had had a passionate, decade's long affair with a Titaness, Selene, one which had only ended two decades ago for reasons beyond their control. Had engaged in a dangerous sexual relationship with a dark goddess, Eris, one which even now he was surprised he had survived. On top of that he'd also struck up an odd, initially sexual relationship, and later friendship with the monster, Medusa, one which lasted even to this day._

 _Over the last century he had fought, and loved, laughed and lost. This horrible, miserable place, as strange as it sounded, had almost become like home to him. A horrible, miserably grim home, but his home all the same. Only it was a home that he was hopefully soon about to leave, most likely forever._

 _With that last, bittersweet thought, Percy looked away. Instead reached for the soft, orange light he could see on the other side of the door. As he always said to himself back when he was at his lowest and darkest points, 'never look back, always go forward'._

 _With that in mind, and with a last concerted push he forced himself through the gateway and out of Tartarus, and instead onto the other side, the giant, black, hell-forged metal doors slamming shut behind him._

 _Once on the other side, he found his vision had blurred as he suddenly found himself in what looked like a brightly lit cave. His breathing was still coming out ragged, even as he found himself breathing relatively fresh air for the first time in a century. The usual acidic taste, and sulphur in the atmosphere absent, along with the oppressive heat too, as he found out when a sudden chill overcame his body._

 _Unfortunately Percy only had time for a single, deep, exultant breathe of this sweet, fresh air, the air of freedom, before he was snapped from his jubilant thoughts, by the sound of a nearby voice shouting out, and several dozen other voice then shouting out too as a deafening war cry suddenly filled the cavern he was now standing in._

 _"Unleash hell!" A powerful, yet unfamiliar, female voice bellowed. "Charge!"_

 **( - )**

 **(In the present, with Percy)**

"So when was the last time you were here, Diana? You seem to be getting us a little lost." Percy asked, his voice full of amusement as he walked along side Diana. Both of them currently dressed casually, with Percy in his jeans, orange T-shirt and tan coloured, golden fur lined 'leather' jacket, whilst Diana wore jeans, a dark blouse and a smart jacket of her own.

In response to Percy's question Diana's cheeks went a little pink, with her mumbling under her breath as she did so, even as she then turned around and gazed at their surroundings in confusion.

At present the two of them were playing tourist, both of them having gone to London for the day. With them having already gone on the London Eye, and been to the Natural History museum and Buckingham Palace.

Now though they were walking around the backstreets of the now mostly gentrified Canary Wharf, both of them looking for a nice restaurant, one which Green Arrow had apparently recommended.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Percy continued in amusement, his smile widening at his friend's obvious embarrassment. Both of them continuing on down the street as they talked, both noticing as they did so, the number of looks they were drawing.

Likely this was because both of them had quite striking appearances, Diana after all was a beauty that would outshine even the most gorgeous of supermodels. Whilst Percy, while not beautiful or anything like that, had a certain roguish handsomeness, which along with his broad shoulders, and powerful build, made him stand out quite a bit in a crowd.

On top of that it was also likely their accents, Wonder Woman had a distinctly odd, Themyscira accent, one which stood out from both the multiple British and conventional American ones. Similarly Percy too had a very odd accent, one that was closer to Diana's than a native of New York or London, though it was also distinctly different as he had acquired it after spending over a century in Tartarus speaking either Ancient Greek, Latin or English to ancient and eccentric beings.

"I said, back in 1945." Diana replied, speaking a bit louder this time.

"During World War Two, I didn't realise you or the Amazons were involved?" Percy asked. By now he had gone through the major historical events in both of their worlds with an Amazonian historian, and had found that the majority of them were the same, or had least had distinct similarities, or at least up until the mid-1970s when the first superheroes began to officially appear to the public at large.

"The Amazons weren't, I however was. There was a pilot who crashed on the island, Steve. He told us of what was going on, and although my mother and the others didn't want to get involved, I thought differently." Diana replied after a few moments of silence, her tone oddly stiff, as if this were a topic she was uncomfortably talking about.

"Right." Percy nodded, he had developed enough tact to know when to change the topic of conversation. "Well, by the looks of it we're lost. How about we just find the nearest pub and grab a few drinks. You look like you could do with a bit of gin, plus I'm gasping for a pint of ale. Tell you what, the first round is on me."

Diana's lip curled upwards in amusement as she heard this. "Fine, but I warn you, you men pale in comparison to the Amazons when it comes to the consumption of alcohol."

"You know, that sounds like a challenge to me!" Percy grinned back, leading the older, dark haired woman to the nearest pub, the Cock and Bull, which just happened to be a dozen or so metres away. Though considering that their seemed to be several pubs or bars on every single street in London, this wasn't really a surprise.

"Sounds like a challenge?" Diane smirked, locking gazes with Percy now. "It was a challenge Perseus."

Percy laughed at that, even as he opened the door to the pub and gestured for Diana to go in first.

 **( - )**

 **(Sometime Later)**

"So, Perseus. How are things going with your new team?" Asked Diana as she sat back on the sofa in their little booth, a glass of pink gin, tonic, assorted berries and ice on the table in front of her.

Percy took a sip of his stout as he thought about Diana's question. How were things going with his team?

He and Megan were getting on fine, both of them connecting as strangers of the group. On top of which she just had a very likeable personality, sure she was a little innocent and naive, but in some ways that was quite endearing. Either way, both of them were getting on with one another quite well.

The same could be said for Superboy, over the last week or so he had started to get along with him too. Especially now the clone had started to loosen up, starting with him apologising to Megan for his previous behaviour. That being said, there was still a little tension when it came to asking Superboy to do something, or when the still volatile clone got frustrated or angry. But still for the most part they were getting along better and better every day.

Kaldur too seemed to have loosened up considerably. Though he was still very serious and measured in how he spoke. Despite that though he seemed to have adopted a more open approach when dealing with Percy and Superboy, which was paying off as, although not friends, both he and Percy got along swimmingly. Though Percy suspected that Kaldur had considerable questions about Percy and his origins, questions he was holding off on asking for the moment. But for how much longer Percy didn't know.

It was the same with Wally too. In the week and a bit since the mission to Santa Prisca he had been a lot friendlier with Percy and Superboy, and just as friendly and flirtatious as ever to Megan. More than though he had also lost some of the subconscious condescension he had previously had, and instead seemed to be more excepting of their thoughts and ideas, treating them as contemporaries as oppose to as rookies.

He was still an annoying prat at times, but he was getting better. In fact in the deep recesses of Percy's memories he was beginning to equate Wally with the Stoll twins he used to know, or at least he saw similarities between Wally and them from what little he remembered of the two, twin sons of Hermes.

So yes, for the most part things with the team seemed to have evened out. They were not perfect by any means, there was still friction, and uncertainness. But for the most part things were going in the right direction, save for one issue, Robin.

The Boy Wonder had become the prickliest of the bunch. He still held onto the superiority complex he had had at the beginning, and although he had begun to become more amiable with Superboy and Megan, along with his old friends. Percy still noted an undercurrent of superiority and condescension in him when it came to matters of heroics, training or planning.

On top of that was Percy's relationship with the boy. Robin didn't trust him. That much was clear to see. The boy treated Percy like one would a coiled up snake, as if he were just waiting for him to snap and show his true colours. Suffice to say this had put a dampener on things. More than that though was the fact that the boy seemed to be seeking Percy's acknowledgement, almost like he wanted Percy to admit Robin was better, or more experienced or more fitting to be leader.

Not that he would ever get such an acknowledgement from Percy, in fact the boy's attitude had honestly started to annoy him.

"Well?" Diana prompted, looking at him over the rim of her glass as she had another sip.

"Things are fine. The team is still settling in and getting used to one another really." Percy shrugged, drinking another mouthful of his chocolate stout as he did so.

"I heard they elected you leader…" Diana smiled, her lips curling upwards as she watch Percy's face carefully.

"Megan and Kaldur suggested it, and both Superboy and Wally agreed. So yes, for the moment I am the leader of the team, at least until one of the others prove themselves fit to take on the role." Percy grimaced, honestly he did not want to be leader. To be so was neither his goal, nor his dream. But without any other options it seemed like it would have to be him, or at least for the moment. "I am hoping Kaldur will take on the role in a few weeks or a month. Once he has gotten a proper appraisal of everyone's abilities and made bonds, I am hoping to hand over the mantle to him. I think in terms of personal development, it would be better for him to have the responsibility foisted on him, as opposed to it being put on me."

"To Kaldur… that will make Aquaman happy…" Diana replied, before she smirked when she saw Percy grimace once again. "Honestly, I don't know why you're so against him. Aquaman is perfectly pleasant. I mean, yes he can be a little arrogant and full of himself at times, but for the most part he is a decent man."

Percy sent her a flat look as she said this. "I'm sure he is wonderful." He replied dryly, before continuing. "But to me he is still a pretender. I'm not sure why, but for some reason his masquerading as the King of Atlantis and Lord of the Sea makes me uncomfortable. Call it pride, or loyalty to my father, but the thought of someone else usurping his position, no matter how impossible and ridiculous that sounds, and I know it does, makes me angry."

"Give it time, I suppose you are still settling into this world. It's only been ten months since you arrived here cousin." Diana said, reaching out and taking Percy's hand comfortingly, with her giving it a momentary squeeze before she pulled back. "So what of Robin, you've not mentioned Batman's little protégé yet."

Percy sent her a crooked smile as he pondered on that question. "The boy is as arrogant and socially inept as his master. Both of them are idealists, with far too higher opinions of themselves, and an unwarranted superiority complex."

"Tell me how you really feel." Diana laughed. "You're being far too harsh on both of them, and you know it. Neither of them is as bad as you're making them out to be. Yes they have issues, that much is obvious. Batman is controlling, mistrustful, paranoid and admittedly a little egotistical. But he is also reliable, very intelligent, skilled, and above all, well intentioned."

Percy grunted in response to that.

"You don't have to be friends with them, but you will need to work with them. Give the boy time, be patient, and I'm sure your view on him will change." Diana said encouragingly, finishing off her drink as she did so.

"I'll try, but I doubt anything will come of it." Percy replied, the expression on his face clearly unconvinced.

"Well the fact you try is all I ask." Diana nodded, before she paused as the communicator in her pocket began to go off.

Pulling it out she raised it to her ear, and a few moments of whispered conversation later she clicked it off and put it away. "But anyway Perseus, it appears I need to shoot off. There is an issue over in the United States. Apparently some kind of robot is running amok, and has apparently been going on a rampage for the last couple of hours."

Percy nodded at that, draining his own pint as he did so. "That's not a problem, I should be getting back to the cave anyway. Team training is supposed to start in an hour or so, and I'll need to get ready and do a warm up in preparation first."

"Come on then, we'll catch a Zeta Tube up to the Watchtower. Don't worry, I'll fly you to the transporter, it'll be much faster that way." Diana nodded, both of them standing up and preparing to head off as duty called. "Hopefully we'll be able to do this again, soon."

"I'll have to check my calendar." Percy shot back, a cheeky smile on his face as he did so. Forcing the grimace off of his face at the thought of Wonder Woman carrying him in her arms as she flew them over the city. His ego and manliness may never recover.

 **( - )**

 **(Back at Mount Justice)**

" **Recognised B06: Perseus."** Looking up as he entered the cave, Percy had to withhold a scowl as he heard the name the machine tinny voice called out to the rest of the cave.

He really needed to get himself a new alias. At the moment though, he was still undecided. He thought Tempest could be good name, short and to the point. But now he was thinking of Trident too, or maybe Riptide. He wanted his 'superhero' name to give a nod to his heritage he knew that much, but it was just deciding on one that was the problem.

"Percy!" Megan called out enthusiastically as he entered the room, the green skinned girl taking to the air as she flew over to greet him.

"Megan." Percy acknowledged, a smile on his face as he then looked over her head and saw an electric clock on the wall. He had ended up spending much more time than he had meant too at the Watchtower. But then again, how could he not want to have a look around. After all it was not every day, for most people anyway, that you got to be in space on a floating command centre.

"How are you? Did you have a good time in London with Wonder Woman?" Megan continued, floating beside Percy now as he walked towards the centre of the cave. Training was supposed to be starting soon, it was strange that it was just the two of them here at present.

"Yeah, it was pretty nice. It is the first time I've been if I'm honest, though I'll admit, it was a little bit too busy for my tastes." Percy nodded, looking back to the green Martian girl now as he saw her land on the ground next to him. "What about you?"

"It's been a bit of boring day for me. Superboy went out to help with an accident on the Metropolis Bridge an hour ago, and none of the others have been round. So I have been pretty much alone." Megan shrugged, her lips turning downwards as she said this. Though she seemed to brighten up when she looked up at Percy. "But now you're here, we can do something together!"

"I think we have training in a little bit. But after that I am up for heading out, did you have anything in mind?" Percy replied, smiling as he saw the younger girl brighten up considerably at his words.

Unfortunately though, before she could give voice to what she wanted to do later, the Zeta Tube behind them flared to life once more.

" **Recognised B02: Aqualad."**

In a flash of light, the stern looking Kaldur entered the cavern. With him, like the others, wearing civilian clothes, consisting of a polo neck jumper, jeans and trainers.

"Kaldur!" Megan grinned, turning from Percy now as she looked to the new entrant, grabbing Percy by the hand as she did so, so she could spin him around and drag him over to the approaching Atlantean. "What are you doing here?"

"I was hoping to hang out with my friends." Kaldur replied, a smile on his face as he walked over to the others. "It is good to see you both again, I hope you've been well."

"Well enough, what about you?" Percy replied amiably.

Before Kaldur could reply, he was once again cut off as the machine behind him lit up and whirred to life once more.

" **Recognised B03: Kid Flash!"**

"Hey Megalicious, did you miss me?" Kid Flash said brightly as he entered the room, though unlike the others he was dressed in his usual bright yellow costume and red mask. With him blurring off in a burst of speed a few moments after entering the cavern, speeding over to Megan as he did so, before he then placed an elbow on her shoulder and grinned at her. "Want to spend some _alone_ time together."

Percy felt his eye twitch at Kid Flash's actions. Seriously this kid had issues, he had to at least have severe ADHD, and coming from Percy that meant something.

Megan, as naive as ever though, merely gave the ginger haired teen a friendly smile. "It is nice to see you too Wally."

Shaking his head at this, Percy gave Kid Flash a nod, after which he headed for the corner of the room. Pulling off his jacket and throwing it onto the sofa as he did so. Training would be starting soon, hence why they were all showing up now, it was not just some lucky coincidence, nor just because they were bored and wanted to hang out.

" **Recognised B01: Robin."**

"Hey," Robin waved as he strode into the cave wearing his costume, cape and all. "I am ready for a mission, who else is?"

Percy turned back to the group as he heard this, his arms crossed as he watched the ongoing interactions.

"Tell me about it." Kid Flash nodded, the loud, enthusiastic teen already munching away at a chocolate bar as he looked around the cave. "I am getting bored with all this nothing."

"I am sure we will get a mission soon," Megan replied reassuringly, her demeanour brighter than ever as she looked around at all her new friends.

"Hmm, well a proper leader would have been on at Batman or Red Tornado about getting us a new mission." Robin shrugged, his pointed statement not going over anyone's heads as those present looked between Robin and Percy awkwardly, the only two members of the team that were still somewhat at odds.

Luckily for the others, before Percy had a chance to reply, or Robin a chance to continue speaking, they were both distracted by the Zeta Tube lighting up again, as the tinny voice sounded out once more.

" **Recognised B04: Superboy."**

Moments later Superboy entered into the room, clad as usual in his black and red Superman shirt. Though perhaps more unusual, of late at least, was that there was also a scowl on his face, and a certain tenseness to his posture that spoke of barely restrained anger.

"How did everything go?" Megan asked, glad that Superboy was here as he would distract from the previous awkwardness. Unfortunately though her question was never answered, as the clone instead stormed past the entire team. His actions and obvious anger catching the attention of all five of them.

"Superboy!" Percy called out, his tone firm, and his expression unrelenting, even as he saw Superboy come to a stop and tense.

Megan, Wally and Kaldur sent Percy nervous looks at this. All three of them knew that Percy was not the most tactful of people, in fact at times he could come across quite abrasive. The last thing they wanted was for Percy to provoke Superboy to lose his temper, after all none of them knew what would happen if that occurred. Especially since the two of them were probably, in terms of raw power alone, the strongest members of the team.

"You look annoyed. If there is anything you want to talk about. Or even if you just want someone to hold a punching bag whilst you vent your frustration, I am here." Percy said after a few moments. Like Diana said, he was the leader now, even if he didn't want to be, as such he needed to start putting some effort into it.

"As kind as that offer is Perseus, I am afraid there won't be time for that. Not at the moment anyway, not until after you've finished your training." A new voice spoke out, attracting everyone's attention, including Superboy, as they all turned around and saw two more figures walking towards them. One of them, Martian Manhunter, and the other, Black Canary, both of them walking side by side as they approached the assembled team.

Walking forwards so he was standing amongst the rest of his 'team', his coat currently folded up and resting on a nearby sofa, which left him in just a baggy T-shirt, his tanned, bare, muscly forearms clear to see as he kept his arms folded in front of him. His hard, sea green eyes trailing over the two newcomers, one an alien, the other a mutated human.

Focusing on the human, Percy quickly noted only that Black Canary was very attractive, but also that she was favouring one shoulder and arm over another. It appeared she might have been in a fight not too long ago, one from which she had not fully recovered.

"Uncle J'onn!" Megan gleefully shouted as she saw the newcomers. The red head quickly running over to give her uncle a hug the moment she saw him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighbourhood, and I just decided to drop by to see how you were doing," Replied Martian Manhunter, his usually stoic face breaking into the slightest of smiles as he put his arms around his niece and pulled her into a short, but meaningful hug..

Megan smiled up at him as she heard that, "I hit a few bumps but I am learning."

"That is all I can ask." Nodded the older Martian, before he then looked up at the rest of the group. His red eyes surveying them all, the intensity of his gaze making more than one of them stiffen and stand a little straighter.

Meeting the older Martian's gaze, Percy tilted his head to one side as he eyed up the green skinned, red eyed figure warily. As strange as it seemed, considering he had spent the vast majority of his life in a hell dimension fighting monsters, gods, giants and Titans, he still found it odd to be faced with living proof that extra-terrestrials existed.

Superboy too studied the two Martians, only his gaze was jealous as opposed to curious as he watched Megan and Martian Manhunter's interactions. Scowling, the clone let out a grunt of irritation, after which he once again turned to leave.

"Stick around," Black Canary spoke up, her blue eyes locked on the clone as she drew his attention to her. "Training is in session."

The clone didn't verbally respond to Black Canary's statement, but nor did he leave as he instead crossed his arms in front of him and glowered at the older heroine.

Ignoring the look, Black Canary instead walked into the middle of the room, activating the training simulation as she did so, the projector like devices overhead flaring to life, even as the floor beneath her lit up.

"I want you to know that I consider it an honour to teach you." She began, removing remove jacket as she did so. "I will throw everything at you. Everything that I learned from my own mentors and as well…" She winced in pain here and put a hand on her visibly bandaged shoulder, "and my own bruises."

"What happened?" Asked Megan, concern lacing her tone, and clear on the expression on her face.

"The job," Smirked Black Canary, rolling her shoulder carefully as she did so. "Combat is all about putting the battle on your terms. You should always be acting and not reacting. I need a sparring partner. Any volunteers?"

"Oh me!" Shouted Kid Flash, the cocky smirk on his face, and his overall attitude making it clear for all to see that he wasn't taking this serious. "Once this is over, I'll show you my _moves_."

"No." Percy's voice rang out before Black Canary could respond, or Kid Flash could enter the metaphorical ring. "You are clearly not taking this serious, and as funny as it would be to see Black Canary make an example out of you. I think it would be more beneficial to get on with training. Some of us have things we want to learn after all."

With that said Percy unfolded his arms and walked forwards, walking over so he was directly opposite the bemused looking Black Canary. Completely ignoring Kaldur and Megan's amusement at his put down of Wally, Wally's expression of both irritation and anticipation as he moved back to watch, and finally Superboy and Robin's twin scowls. Both of which were likely for different reasons.

"Ok then Perseus, it looks like you're up." The tall, blonde haired woman said, eyeing Percy curiously as she sank into a fighting stance. "Though I am curious about what you are hoping to learn from this."

Shifting the position of his body, Percy raised both arms up in front of him, his fists clenched as he took on what looked like a standard boxing stance. His posture revealing the scars on his forearms, some of which didn't look to have been made by humans, and also the aged SPQR tattoo on his forearm.

"I am more skilled than most when it comes to close combat weaponry, and have an admirable control over my abilities. What I am lacking though, is proper technique and experience in hand to hand combat, save what I have managed to teach myself." Percy replied, keeping light on his feet as he kept his arms up, ready to either lash out or defend himself.

"I'm impressed." Black Canary nodded, shifting her positon as she watched Percy shift his own stance too, closely. "You are aware of your weaknesses, and appear to be willing to learn and improve on them. That's an admirable quality, and something that everyone should aspire to have."

Percy didn't verbally respond to that statement, instead he darted forward, his foot work fast as he moved in close, lunging out for a quick jab.

Only Black Canary saw this, with her instead darting forwards and to one side in order to intercept, her right leg coming round to blast a kick into Percy's unprotected side.

Percy though reacted in an instant, pulling back he allowed her kick to swing past him, after which he darted in again, rapidly getting in too close for her to land any effective kicks. With him crowding her, launching hooks and jabs to her body, head and shoulders, aiming for her weaker right side as he did so.

Black Canary though was no slouch. Instead of back off, she instead lunged forward, getting within one of his swings as she landed two quick blows to Percy's ribs, after which she whirled around a counter swing and landed a strong knee into his kidney.

The only response she got from Percy was a gasp, as he moved into a defensive positon, his arms up as he protected his face and sides from Black Canary's knees, kicks and punches. Giving ground now as he let her take on the role of aggressor. A positon he maintained, right up until she threw a powerful kick at his gut, aiming for a sudden gap in his defences.

The moment this happened, Percy lunged forward, one of his arms wrapping around her leg, whilst his other hand got her throat in a chokehold, his momentum and weight forcing her to overbalance and knocking her to the ground. With Percy shifting from Roman style boxing to Greek style wrestling as he used a mixture of strength and technique to grapple the smaller woman into submission.

Once again though, Black Canary proved herself more than capable as she lashed out with her elbows, threw back her head and writhed in his grip. With her thrashing about, and constant blows and strikes causing Percy's grip to weaken, even as he continued to try and subdue her.

Twisting on the ground, Black Canary freed her legs, wrapping them both around Percy's neck as she did so, even as she pushed herself above him, her own arms now wrapped around Percy's arm and hand, which even now scrabbled at her throat, even as she used her thighs to attempt to choke him into submission.

Growling in frustration at this, Percy used raw strength to throw Black Canary off of him, though he couldn't break her lock around his neck. Noting this, he instead forced himself up, freeing his hand as he made it onto his feet, Black Canary's legs still around his neck and her arms now forcing his right arm into a lock.

Raising his arm Percy slammed the smaller woman into the ground beneath him, the force of the blow loosening her arms and legs, allowing him to throw her off of him probably now. Only for the heroine to roll to her feet straight away, her movements swift as she moved in close again, landing a kick to Percy's side before he could fully recover.

Though he did recover enough to block her next blow, and then counterattack as he landed a glancing jab on her injured shoulder, and then a body shot to her kidney. That was as far as he got though, before she kicked him in the chest forcing him to step back, some of the air having been knocked out of him.

This then gave her the time and space she needed to run at him, leaping into the air as she did so, her legs once again wrapping around his neck, even as she twisted. Only this time she had the momentum to knock him off of his feet. Her manoeuvre slamming Percy into the ground, with Black Canary on top, her forearm pressing into his throat.

A few moments later the floor underneath him lit up, a circle appearing around him with the word FAIL appearing too. A tiny voice calling out the word too, as if to add insult to injury.

"And that's that." Black Canary said, her breathing much harder than before, her chest rising and falling rapidly. With her long, blonde hair being in complete disarray as she got off of Percy and swept it back, revealing as she did so a few red marks on her face and throat from the recent fight. "You did well Perseus, your style was that of a very unconventional boxer. Though I did see some dated wrestling techniques in there. That being said, in all fairness I would say you were more of a brawler than a properly trained fighter."

"And I would agree." Percy replied, pushing himself to his feet as he did so, his own breathing even. Though his face was a bit flushed and his forehead was beaded with sweat. "I did a bit of boxing and wrestling in my youth, it was compulsory for us to be taught it, along with archery, swordsmanship and the like. But that was a very long time ago and I've not kept up with my practice."

"I could tell," Black Canary said dryly, massaging her red throat, putting aside her questions over Percy's phrasing of that statement, about how it was compulsory, and that it was in his youth, which was apparently a long time ago. "The basics were there, but you relied more on raw strength and unpredictability than technique. You have potential, but you definitely need some training in hand to hand. I'm thinking a bit of taekwondo and judo, or some krav maga. Either way I will look into putting together a training regime, and getting you some one on one training."

"Thanks." Percy nodded, smiling at the older looking blonde now. "And you fought well too. You turned my strength against me, and adapted on the fly. The only way I could get a hit in was by throwing caution to the wind and leaving myself open."

"Years of practice, but like you just saw, there is always more to learn and always ways to improve. I should have taken you more seriously from the start, if I had shut you down earlier instead of trying to take your measure I could have avoided some of those hits." Black Canary shrugged, easily admitting to her own mistakes, forgetting for the moment that she was the teacher here, and thus had purposefully not gone all out.

Smiling up at Percy for moment, her eyes trailing down to his arm and the tattoo visible on it, Dinah then cleared her throat and looked to the rest of the team. All of whom were watching on with mixed expressions. With Superboy looking bored, and Aqualad interested and curious as he eyed the trident part of Percy's SPQR tattoo. Robin and Wally meanwhile were just smirking, both of them happy to see Percy knocked down a few pegs. As for Megan, she merely grinned at Percy and gave him two thumbs up.

"So what did we learn from what just happened?" Asked Black Canary.

Robin raised his hand. "That a trained fighter will defeat an untrained one, ninety percent of the time!"

Percy cocked an eyebrow at that comment. Robin had a point, but still, Percy suspected he was trying to prove some kind of point here as oppose to being helpful.

"There is that…" Dinah nodded slowly, before she made to continued. "But not exactly what I had in mind…"

Only for her to then be interrupted by a loud scoff.

"Please." Turning around, Dinah and the others immediately saw that it was Superboy who had spoken. "That might work for normal people, but for a person with my powers, I will always win. I am literally a living weapon and this is a waste of my time."

Percy couldn't help but release a bitter bark of laughter as he heard that.

"What?!" Superboy snapped, glaring at Percy now. "Just now you held back, if you had used your powers you would have crushed her with ease!"

Black Canary frowned as she heard that.

Percy though just shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. She's had powers she didn't use too, you know. But no, that wasn't what I was laughing at. I was more amused by your assertion that just because you are a 'living weapon', that you're unbeatable and need no training."

"And your point is?" Superboy scowled.

"My point, is that I was born and bred to be a living weapon. I, like my brothers and sisters before me, like my cousins, nephews and nieces, the rest of my kind, were created to be warriors, to be fighter, killers and heroes. We were born for the sole purpose of dying a valiant death on the field of battle. We were born to fight and die, all so we could bring honour and esteem to the rest of our family." Percy replied, his voice getting heated and his green eyes flashing with fury now, as long buried feelings began to rise up inside of him. "You spout off about being a 'living weapon', but you're barely a month old. You have no idea or comprehension of what the term means! Nor any comprehension of the fate that most 'living weapons' have…!"

Silence, absolute silence followed this statement. With all eyes in the room on Percy as he stood tall and resolute, his expression stony, and yet the look in his eyes fierce and furious.

In contrast Superboy looked completely taken aback. Before now Percy had snapped at him and scolded him, but never once had he lost his temper, never once had Superboy had his anger returned back on him tenfold. Honestly it was a little intimating.

Megan too looked very worried, but her concerns were not only about Percy's words, but about their own safety. Percy's powers she knew, were connected to his emotions. She had seen him nearly bring down the mountain when he lost himself in his memories whilst training. She dreaded to think what reaction his anger, his fury, would cause.

Only in the end there was no reaction, the walls of the mountain did not crumble, nor did the ground below them crack. The air didn't become thicker, or acidic. In fact all was still as Percy stared Superboy down.

"Now shut up and get involved. You're being offered an opportunity here, an opportunity to better yourself, to become more than you are now. You are being offered the chance to become stronger, faster, better, all of which could be the difference between life and death later on." Percy continued, his tone once again mellow and his sudden anger buried, the tension, although still there, lessening slightly now.

"Perseus is right in what is being offered. Powers are not the be all and end all. More than that your natural abilities can be enhanced by learning new skills, plus in the possible, if unlikely, case that you lose your abilities, even if only temporarily, then it is always useful to have other skills to rely on." Dinah spoke up, her words snapping the others out of their contemplation, even as she tore her gaze away from Percy, pushing down her thoughts on just what the dark haired teen was for the moment, as she instead focused on the matter at hand.

"Now Superboy, it's your turn!" Dinah continued, gesturing for the still quiet clone to step up.

Her words seemed to snap Superboy out of his current state, as he sent Percy one last partially nervous, partially curious look, after which he turned to face Black Canary, his eyes narrowing as he did so.

Stepping forward, Superboy crouched into a fighting stance, his gaze locked on the attractive blonde. Black Canary meanwhile, still favouring her left side, got into the same stance as before.

A few moments passed at this standoff occurred, after which Superboy lunged forward, throwing a punch Canary's way, only for her to grab his arm and toss him over her shoulder in a single fluid movement.

Percy, watching from the side could only shake his head. Did Superboy not learn from Percy's match, he lacked the skill and technique to fight Black Canary in such a manner, instead of throwing punches he should have been looking to turn this into a grappling match. After all Superboy was far stronger than even Percy, so much so that once in close he could have dominated Black Canary if he got a hold of her. Instead though, he was just playing into her hands.

Moments after Superboy landed on his back, a burst of laughter came from Robin. With Kaldur nudging his friend, even as Robin put his hands over his mouth to muffle his laughter.

Reacting to this, Superboy angrily charged at Black Canary. Only for him to once again find himself knocked to the ground with ease.

"Good, you are angry. Channel that anger," Said Black Canary patiently.

Growling, Superboy leapt forward for the blonde once more, only to have his legs swept out from under him, after which, for the third time, he found himself flat on his back with the words FAIL next to his body.

"Enough!" Superboy shouted standing up. "I am done."

"Training is mandatory," Dinah shot back, her gaze shifting over to Percy, almost as if she expected him to once again reprimand the clone. Only to see Percy cross his arms and shake his head.

You could lead a horse to water, but you couldn't make it drink.

Moments later, before anymore could be said, everyone in the room was distracted when a screen overhead lit up.

"Batman to the cave!" Batman's voice rang out, even as the Dark Knight in question appeared on the large overhead screen directly in front of them.

Seeing this, the assembled team and League members gathered around to listen.

"Five hours ago, Green Arrow initially called in the League to help deal with an android threat. It turned out to be disastrous." At those words another screen lit up to show an odd, striking looking android fighting various members of the Justice League and winning. "The android possessed the ability to copy the powers of anyone it came in contact with. In the end, both Wonder Woman and Superman had to be called in to help deal with it. With it taking, in total, eight League members nearly four hours to defeat the android."

Robin's eyes widened as he heard this, his gaze locked on the screen as he studied the android. "A machine with the powers of the entire Justice League. Who made it? T.O. Morrow?"

Percy cocked an eyebrow at the name, not only did it sound ridiculous, but it was also a name, or more likely an alias, Percy had never heard before, even if the others seemed to have.

"Good guess, but Red Tornado doesn't think so." Replied Batman promptly.

With that said, Martian Manhunter turned to address the team. "It bares the signature of Professor Ivo."

"Ivo? But he is dead," Said Aqualad.

"So we thought and hoped," Black Canary replied, her face set in a frown now.

Percy's eyes narrowed at this, even as he looked up at the android. A machine that possessed the ability to mimic and copy other people's power. That was worrying, and frighteningly overpowered. He had no idea that technology was capable of doing such a thing. More than that he was curious whether this android could just copy 'Meta abilities', or whether it could also copy natural alien abilities, and abilities that are divine in nature.

"Until this threat is permanently neutralised, we are sending two trucks carrying the parts to two separate STAR Labs, one in Boston, and the other in New York. You all will split up into two separate teams to safe guard the two real trucks," Continued Batman, oblivious to Percy's musings.

"So now we take out your garbage?" Superboy spoke up snidely, surprising some of the others as that was the kind of thing they expected from Robin or Wally, not the clone. Anger, yes, but spite and sarcasm, not so much.

In response to the clone's comments, Batman stared at Superboy for a moment, before responding curtly. "You had something better to do **?"** After which the image disappeared, leaving the screen blank.

"Right, we've received the coordinates for the rendezvous." Kaldur called out from a nearby console, looking to Percy for instructions.

Meeting his gaze, Percy withheld a sigh as he instead nodded. "Fine, everyone gear up, it's time to move out."

With that said the team all turned and broke apart, all of them heading off to get ready for their latest mission.

It was as they were doing this, that Black Canary reached out with her good arm and grabbed Superboy's arm. "When you are ready Superboy, I will be here."

With that said, the heroine let him go, and then stood back and watched as all the teens began darting about, readying themselves to head off on their latest, dangerous mission.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So that was the chapter, what do you all think? I hope you enjoyed it?**

 **Honestly this chapter ended up being much longer than I thought it would. But even so I think it needed to be to contain all the development and detail I wanted in it. Still I hope that isn't a problem, I don't want to bog down the stories plot.**

 **On another not I have decided to address an issue I have noticed in the reviews, Robin. A couple of people seem to think I am being unfair on him, bordering on bashing. I would disagree. Robin to me is the youngest of the team, only thirteen, and also pretty cocky and arrogant. That does not necessarily mean I dislike him or think he is shit though. Though I will admit his season one character for the first few episodes does bug me a little.**

 **What it does mean though it that it will take longer to humble him, and he is still developing. For one in canon he accepts Aqualad as leader, and acknowledges his weaknesses, after the team's initial disastrous attempt to capture Kobra and Sportsmaster. In this story though Percy is there, and his overwhelming competence and cynical outlook means that they don't fail, and so Robin does not get that humbling experience. What does happen though, is that the mature members of the team start to realise their own issues, and what they need to work on. The same too will happen to Robin. So to reiterate I am not bashing, I am developing his character in line with what is happening in the plot.**

 **The next thing is not an issue but more of a request for people's help/ opinion. I am picking Percy's hero name and finalising it. These are the three I am thinking of;**

 **Riptide,**

 **Trident,**

 **Tempest,**

 **I would love to hear your opinion on these three as I am hoping to make it official next chapter. If you have other suggestions I am happy to hear them, though it would be useful to hear some reasoning too.**

 **Another thing, Percy's spar with Black Canary. This is a pre-emptive answer. Percy is skilled in using his powers and weaponry, but never really trained or honed his hand to hand combat abilities. In Tartarus his foes were often far stronger than him, or were better adapted to hand to hand. This forced him to focus on weaponry and his abilities, which in turn made him develop and push his abilities and skills beyond the limits in order to survive the harshness of hell. What he didn't do is hand to hand, hence why he is hoping to plug up that gap in his skillset with proper training, practice and technique.**

 **Similarly Percy is stronger than a normal human, I would call him 'enhanced'. But he doesn't have super strength. There are plenty of DC characters who will be significantly, physically stronger than Percy. This is because super strength is not in his skillset as a Demigod. If I had brought Hercules or Zoe Nightshade to this world, then yes I would have had more to work with. Hercules would be comparable with Superman, and Zoe with Wonder Woman. But that is not the case. Percy is a unique Demigod from another version of earth, and so although he has many skills, super strength and super speed is not one of them.**

 **Then finally, I was pondering about bringing in a very interesting character called Terra at some point, some may know her. This is in spite of the fact that I know now that she is brought in in season 3 of the canon programme. But for me I just find her character and potential fascinating. Plus I like the idea of Percy having a protégé/ minion/ apprentice. That being said this is just a thought that literally came to me today so no promises.**

 **Other than that, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Please do leave a comment or a review. If you have any questions etc. please do PM me, I tend to be quite good at responding promptly to those.**

 **Thanks a lot and I'll catch you later.**

 **Greed720.**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hey all so here is the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy it! It's been a week or so, but that was because I was on holiday. Plus I was still grieivng after the disappointment that was the Game of Thrones ending. I mean come on that was not cool! Plus I was catching up on a few new anime and tv programmes etc.**

 **But yes, now I am back and keen to get back to writing and what not.**

 **Hope you all enjoy the chapter and leave a review!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or DC, Young Justice etc.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"Right, we've received the coordinates for the rendezvous." Kaldur called out from a nearby console, looking to Percy for instructions._

 _Meeting his gaze, Percy withheld a sigh as he instead nodded. "Fine, everyone gear up, it's time to move out."_

 _With that said the team all turned and broke apart, all of them heading off to get ready for their latest mission._

 _It was as they were doing this, that Black Canary reached out with her good arm and grabbed Superboy's arm. "When you are ready Superboy, I will be here."_

 _With that said, the heroine let him go, and then stood back and watched as all the teens began darting about, readying themselves to head off on their latest, dangerous mission._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 10**

 **( - )**

 **(With Percy, on a large, rural Highway** )

Currently Percy was riding down a wide asphalt road, on a large motor bike, one which was far more high-tech than what he was used to seeing. In spite of this though it was still surprisingly easy to operate.

At present, Percy had decided to wear his standard civilian clothes for the mission. With his outfit consisting of a pair of brown, leather boots, black jeans, and his Nemean Lion hide jacket, as well as his usual kit he was also wearing a new motorbike helmet, one which had a blacked out visor. Along with this, Percy also had his nameless, drakonbone sword sheathed at his right hip, and had attached a large, plain, round, Amazonian shield to his back.

On either side of him, wearing full-body motorbike leathers and helmets, were two others, both of whom were riding identical motorbikes to him.

One of them, the taller one with the broader shoulders, he knew was Kid Flash, who he likewise knew was pretty irritable at the moment, as Percy had told him to ride the bike as oppose to running like he wanted to do. All so the speedster could conserve energy, just in case they needed to use their powers.

Likewise the other, slimmer, shorter figure on Percy's other side, M'gann, was also riding a bike for the exact same reason. Though at the same time M'gann was still using her telepathy to communicate with the other two, and to keep the Bioship on their tail, just in case they needed it.

Together, the three 'young' heroes made up Team A, and currently they were driving in a convoy, following after an innocuous looking, unmarked, Star Labs truck as they provided protection for what lay within.

With the truck that they were currently protecting, containing the mangled head and upper body of the recently destroyed, power stealing, android that had been called Amazo.

The rest of the team meanwhile, Superboy, Robin and Aqualad were all protecting another truck, which contained the rest of the android. With the three of them also riding bikes. All so they could follow through with Batman's overly convoluted plan, which involved the two trucks they were following, and three other decoy vans guarded, each of which were guarded by other heroes.

Due to the apparent need to split the team in two, Percy had put Aqualad in charge of the second squad. With this being due to the simple fact that he, unlike the rest, was the only other member of the team that Percy deemed capable, experienced and mature enough to be entrusted with a leadership role.

Superboy meanwhile had been placed on the other team to act as a tank/ the muscle. Whilst, well Robin was there because Percy didn't want boy with him. Plus dealing with the prickly, younger boy would be a learning experience for Aqualad. Or at least that is what Percy told himself.

'Kid Flash, I want you to drive ahead. Go fifty or so metres out in front and see if you can scout out any potential ambushes or blockades.' Percy thought, with the three of them using M'gann and her powers in order to establish a telepathic connection for communication purposes.

'On it.' Kid Flash replied, breaking his silence as he revved his bike and shot off further up the road. This was not the first time Percy had asked him to scout ahead like this, so he could look for trouble. In fact the older teen had had Kid Flash scouting up ahead every ten minutes or so, using the boy's abilities to his advantage, as he, unlike the other two, could process what he was seeing better than them, even whilst they were travelling at high speed.

'M'gann, have you been able to pick up anyone with your telepathy?' Percy continued, as the two of them shifted along the road so they were ride side by side just behind the truck.

'No, not since that farmer and his son twelve or so kilometres back.' M'gann thought back, shaking her head as she looked over to Percy. 'What about you, have you been able to pick up anything with your sensory abilities?'

'No, it's still not working. We're moving too fast, by the time I spread my senses through the water molecules in the air we're too far away for me to actually sense anything. My sensory abilities require time for me suffuse the surrounding atmosphere with my power, it's not really suited to fast travelling unfortunately.' Percy replied, scanning the surrounding area with his sea green eyes as he did so, but to his eyes the landscape was flashing by so fast he had trouble focusing on anything.

'We all have our strengths and weaknesses.' M'gann replied kindly, only to get a wave of amusement from Percy flooding over their psychic connection in response.

'Yeah, plus the fact that you're not good at everything, kind of makes you seem a little more human.' Kid Flash tagged on as he decelerated his bike, allowing the truck to move past, as he instead moved over so he was on Percy's other side. 'You know, instead of you coming across as some kind of weird cross between Aquaman and Wonder Woman.'

'Excuse me?' Percy replied dryly, even as M'gann stifled a giggle at the mental image of just what a cross between those two heroes would look like.

'Hey, I'm not saying it to offend or anything man. It's just you have the whole weird, male Amazon thing going on with your weapons, accent and stuff, and the abilities of an Atlantean on crack. I'm just saying, at times it feels like you're some superhuman, cross between an Amazon and an Atlantean.' Kid Flash said quickly, attempting, and failing, to defend his previous comment.

'You think I'm some Atlantean/ Amazon hybrid?' Percy asked, his tone now somewhat bemused.

'So I'm guessing that's a no then.' Kid Flash replied awkwardly.

'It's a no of sorts. I suppose you could say that I do hold some similarities to the Amazons, but no direct familial relation, or at least to any save Wonder Woman herself and maybe a couple of others. And even then it is a distant connection.' Percy paused here. It was true that he and Diana were cousins, even if their respective parents were from different realities. After all their realities or worlds, or whatever you wanted to call it seemingly shared the same Tartarus and therefore possibly the same Primordial gods, which in turn meant they probably had a common ancestor, Gaia.

Kid Flash and M'gann didn't reply to that, though Percy could sense their surprise through the psychic link. On top of that he could feel their curiousity intensifying.

Percy had to withhold a smile as he felt this, he would answer their question, or at least in part. After all, in order to create strong bonds you needed to give and not just take. That being said, by no means was he about to get into an in-depth conversation/ interrogation, nor was he going to give them his whole, very long, life story.

'As for the Atlantean thing. Again, I suppose you could call me an Atlantean of sorts, only a different kind of Atlantean. A more exalted one, I guess you could say. Not that I'm an arrogant prat or anything, it's just the race that calls themselves Atlantean that you know, they are not the ones I recognise as being true Atlanteans. No, to me they are little more than pretenders, a diluted race that lays claim to a heritage greater than themselves.' Percy continued slowly, irritation leaking through the link as he tried to think of a way of phrasing what he had just said in a way that didn't come across as conceited. Suffice to say he did not think he had succeeded.

'Right, I don't have a clue what you're talking about.' Kid Flash replied, confusion flooding across the connection now as he tried to work out just what Percy was, and what he was eluding too with the bits and pieces he had let slip over the weeks he had known him and interacted with him.

He had a feeling like he should be able to infer, from all that had just been said and what he already knew of him, what Perseus actually was. But somehow he hadn't quite made the connection in his head yet. Honestly it was a terribly annoying feeling, like he was grasping around in his mind for an answer that he knew, he knew, but was not quite able to remember.

'Also Perseus, despite what you said, that did sound a bit arrogant.' M'gann added on, her tone holding a certain note of reprimand to it.

Percy blinked as he heard this, this was the first time the green skinned girl had shown even a hint of negativity towards him. Somehow his comments over the Atlanteans had hit a nerve with her.

'I know, but I don't know how else to describe it. I don't have anything against them personally. It's just it makes me feel a bit weird and awkward to call them Atlantean, especially when they don't match up with Atlanteans as I know them.' Percy trailed off lamely.

'I see, well I suppose that's understandable in a way. But really you shouldn't just jump to judgement about an entire group of people based on their differences. It isn't right!' M'gann continued, her tone still holding a certain note of anger to it, though this time Percy suspected it wasn't directed at him.

'Yes you're right, absolutely right. I think I might have badly phrased what I previously said, it's not that I'm judging them unduly, I just have not gotten used to the idea of the Atlanteans as you know them, and what they represent.' Percy replied, his tone softer now.

'Wow, things seem to have gotten very deep all of a sudden!' Kid Flash interrupted awkwardly. 'How about we lighten the mood a little. We are kind of on a mission at the moment after all!'

'Oh, right, yes, you're right!' M'gann replied, seemingly shaking herself out of her funk. 'Sorry Wally, you're right, we should keep our minds on the mission!'

'Yes,' Percy nodded, looking back ahead now as the truck and the three bikes continued to shoot down the highway, passing in between two large corn fields as they did so.

It was as they were doing this though, that a strange sound suddenly sounded out, a grating, high pitched sound that immediately attracted Percy, M'gann and Wally's attention as they immediately looked to the side to see whether they could find the source of the disturbance.

Almost immediately the three found the source, even if said source caused all three of them to stop and stare for a few moments.

Green and silver, robot monkeys, with jetpacks. That was the only way Percy could describe the things, and there were dozens of them. All of which seemed to be moving rapidly, exploding out of the surrounding corn field with metallic shrieks and giggles, courtesy of their jetpacks. With each of the animalistic robots standing at around half the size of an average man, with glowing green eyes, metal bodies and prehensile tails.

"The fuck…" Percy muttered out loud, completely taken aback for a few moments as the robot monkeys swarmed the truck on mass, their sharp, bladed hands tearing into the metal sides, even as some of them went to destroy the wheels and attack the driver.

Opening up their communication with Team B, Percy pressed a button on the side of his helmet, his gaze steady as he eyed the swarm of robots, strategizing all the time as he did so. "Aqualad come in, we are under attack."

" _Yes, I had assumed as much. It is the same over here."_

"Ok, go on the defensive, try to drive off the attackers and protect the trucks." Percy replied.

 _"_ _We're on it, good luck."_

"You too." Percy replied, before he turned off the communicator in his helmet. 'M'gann, Kid Flash, the others are under attack too. We need to defend the truck. M'gann take to the air, try to use your telekinesis to get those monkey things off of the truck. Kid Flash use your speed, get the driver to safety first, and then help M'gann clear off the attackers.'

'Got it.' Kid Flash replied mentally, before without another he leapt off of the motor bike and began running, seamlessly transitioning from the bike to the road with ease. With his motorbike swerving the moment he left it, before it then fell rolling several times before it slid off of the road. The time for conserving energy by riding the bike was over, it was time for him to use his abilities.

Similarly Miss Martian abandoned her bike, choosing to fly instead as she allowed the bike to fly off into a nearby cornfield too. With the red haired Martian shooting forwards through the air, even as Kid Flash shot past her along the ground, little more than a red and yellow blur as he shot to where the driver was currently being besieged.

M'gann meanwhile used her telekinetic powers to smash the monkeys into each other. With two of the monkeys exploding in a shower of debris. After which she continued trying to blast the ever growing swarm of robot monkeys away, even as some of them leapt into the air towards her, one or two grabbing a hold of her for a moment, before she blasted them into pieces.

Seeing this Percy accelerated forward on his bike, thinking all the time about what he could do to help.

Unfortunately since he didn't have Kid Flash's super speed, or M'gann's ability to fly, he had to instead find other ways to fight in this high-speed battle. On top of that, with the speed at which they moving he did not have the time or the opportunity to pull the moisture out of the air, which meant nearly all of his hydrokinetic based abilities were out. Nor was he in contact with the ground, which meant that he couldn't effectively use his geokinesis either.

This all meant that in a fight like this Percy was limited, all he had at his disposal was his seismic abilities, which in a fight like this would be just as dangerous to his allies as to his enemies. On top of that he had the Domain of Storms, though the abilities related to that were weaker than his others, and were ones he had less control over, and as such could be dangerous to both Miss Martian and Kid Flash as well as his enemies.

This only left on option.

With that in mind, whilst both Miss Martian and Kid Flash were fighting off the monkeys, Percy jumped up so he was standing on the seat of his bike, shifting his feet to keep his balance as he did so. Before, with a deep breath, he bent his legs and jumped, releasing a blast of seismic energy from the soles of his feet.

In response to this, the bike beneath him shattered, whilst Percy was propelled through the air in a large arc, before he rapidly descended with a controlled roll onto the roof of the truck.

Rolling to his feet, Percy spun on his feet, his blade already out as he slashed, once, twice, three times, each strike destroying one of the surrounding monkeys. Shifting his feet, Percy then sent a controlled wave of seismic energy out of the palm of his free hand, and through the air, the wave hitting three more monkeys and blasting them off the back of the truck, even as he twisted back around his blade a blur as he blocked two tail strikes and decapitated a leaping robot in mid-air.

'The driver is out and safe.' Kid Flash's voice rang out in M'gann and Percy's heads, even as the red and yellow blur shot back alongside the truck. 'I've used a seat belt to lock the wheel in place and put the truck on cruise control. The road is empty and is straight for the next couple of dozen miles, we should be fine.'

'Well done Kid!' M'gann replied, even as she swooped down and used her telekinesis to pull him up off of the road and onto the roof of the truck.

Seeing this Percy covered her as he shot forwards, eyeing the two dozen or so monkeys, which by this point had seemingly learned to keep their distance. Not that that would help them, as with a grimace he swung his sword round and cut his palm, his action drawing blood. Blood which Percy then used to form a crimson whip, one which he swung round and used to slash several of the nearest monkeys in half.

In response to this the monkey's eyes began to glow a more intense green, until a few moments later what looked like laser beams seemed to shoot out of them and towards the heroes.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Percy cursed, forming his blood whip into a shield as he back stepped, each laser beam evaporating his bloody shield as they hit and then dispersed.

Grimacing again, Percy reabsorbed as much blood into his body as he could, before clotting the wound. His blade whipping forward as he did so to deflect three of the laser blasts, even as two more struck him glancing blows, one to his shoulder and one to his thigh. The one which hit his shoulder dispersing on the Nemean Lion skin jacket. The strike to his leg though burned through his jeans and singed the flesh beneath.

"Percy!" Miss Martian shouted as she swooped down and back into the fight, using her powers to slam a nearby monkey off of the truck and into the road below with her telekinetic powers.

"It's fine!" Percy shouted as he pulled his shield off of his back and weathered several more laser blasts, scowling as he began to advance.

With Kid Flash also leaping into action now, as he used shorts blasts of speed to knock as many of the monkeys off of the truck as he could, not that they stay off for long, as quite quickly the used their jetpacks to get back on board.

In response to this, several more of the monkeys landed on the back of the truck. With this group using their lasers to cut through the armoured truck, opening up a large hole in the back.

"There are too many!" Kid Flash shouted as he continued to try and knock them away, even as M'gann used her telekinetic abilities to blast them or rip them apart, and Percy hacked and slashed at as many as he could.

'They've cut a hole in the back whilst we were distracted!' M'gann shouted across the telepathic link, noticing what they were doing as she flew overhead to provide Kid Flash and Percy with some support as they continued to slowly but steadily whittle down their attacker's numbers.

'Stop them!' Percy ordered as he twisted to stop them himself, only for one of the laser beams to strike him in the calf, once again burning through his jeans and singing the flesh and muscle beneath. "Ahh shit!"

One of the monkeys had destroyed one of the trucks tires, blasting out the front wheel, and making the entire truck lurch as the front, right side of it sank lower and began to scrape and spark along the road. The sudden angle making the truck veer off course and into the surrounding corn fields, the ride suddenly becoming a lot shakier.

'I'm on it!' M'gann replied to Percy's last order, only for her to then let out a scream as she was forced to dodge a sudden volley of laser beams, even as three of the remaining monkeys flew out of the back of the truck and into the air with the pieces of Amazo's body. Not that she had much time to worry as one of the blasts clipped her in the shoulder and sent her spiralling down to earth.

"Megan!" Kid Flash shouted as he leapt off of the wavering truck, just as another wheel was blown off making it so the front of the truck slammed into the earth, even as he blurred over to help her, catching her just before she hit the ground.

Seeing this Percy withheld a curse, the truck was fucked and they had lost the cargo.

With this in mind he raised his foot and slammed it into the metal beneath him, releasing a seismic blast as he did so that completely crumbled the truck. A blast of vibrational erupting outward from the point of impact, rupturing nearby asphalt, and ripping apart the field below, even as it shattered all the surrounding robots.

Unfortunately by this point the robots with the pieces of Amazo were far beyond Percy's range and getting further all the time, and as such his last strike did little more than help Percy relieve his stress.

"We failed." Percy said bluntly as he walked through the ruptured remains of the truck. "What a shit show!"

"Hey man, we tried our best!" Kid Flash replied angrily, helping M'gann to her feet as he did so, the Martian looking a little roughed up but not too badly injured as she gingerly held her wounded shoulder.

"I know, and I'm not blaming you." Percy replied bluntly, looking up into the sky as the flying monkeys disappeared into the distance. "I'm blaming Batman, this entire plan was bullshit. We should have just used M'gann's Bioship in stealth mode to transport the pieces of Amazo to the lab. The motorbikes, truck and decoy trucks, it was all too convoluted."

"But how did they know which trucks to hit?" M'gann asked, ignoring Percy's comment as she instead tried to work out what had gone wrong.

"Some kind of hidden tracker with a unique signal I assume." Wally replied shrugged, with the way technology was constantly advancing it was not too surprising that they were taken unawares every now and then. Not that that made it any better.

"Aqualad, we've lost our cargo, what's your situation?" Percy said, withholding an irritated sigh as he contacted the other team to fill them in on the situation.

 _"_ _It's the same here, there were too many of them and they were too fast. They caught us unawares and overwhelmed us. On top of that Superboy's gone, he lost his temper and went AWOL, ditched his communicator too while he was at it."_ Aqualad replied, his own voice holding an obvious note of frustration.

"Shit." Percy cursed, sheathing his sword as he did so. "Right we need to rendezvous. This isn't over yet."

 _"_ _True, Robin managed to put a tracker on the piece of Amazo that they took, we are following them now. Likely they will be moving the pieces to the same spot to resemble it."_ Aqualad replied swiftly.

"Right, send us the coordinates when they stop. Kid Flash, M'gann and I will get to the Bioship and meet you there." Percy replied, looking to M'gann as he did so, his expression clear 'are you alright to go on?'

M'gann nodded in response, standing straighter as she did so.

 _"_ _Will do, we'll stay in contact!"_ Aqualad replied, before signing off.

"Right, we need to get going." Percy nodded, looking around as he did so, his gaze soon falling on the shattered truck. "Let's get to the Bioship!"

 **( - )**

 **(With Superboy, sometime later)**

With a loud crash! Superboy slammed down upon the roof of a train carriage. He had spent the last few hours chasing those damned monkeys that had attacked Robin, Aqualad and him, and he was pissed.

Fortunately, despite the monkeys being airborne, he had been able to use his enhanced vision, hearing and speed to track the robots and find them again.

In the end the chase had led him to where he was now, a large, unassuming train carriage.

Grinning to himself with satisfaction, Superboy managed to punch a hole in the roof, after which he used both hands to tear an opening large enough for him to jump through and down into the carriage.

The moment he did however, he soon found himself surrounded by glowing green eyes, even as laughter filled the air, and it wasn't coming from the chittering, robotic monkeys that were perched on crates all around him this time. Instead the laughter was distinctly human.

"Well what do we have here?" A slightly whiny voice asked, the tone holding the slightest sneer to it.

Looking over to the source of the voice, Superboy immediately found him, after all he was the only other person in the carriage.

The speaker was a small man, one who barely came up to five feet tall. At a first glance the man looked pretty unassuming as he stepped out of the darkness. With the man in question having a frail build, thinning, greying, auburn hair, which when added to his sweater vest over a long sleeve white shirt and black dress pants, made him look like a boring, middle aged science teacher.

"You are Professor Ivo?" Superboy stated bluntly, looking down on the man as he ignored the still chittering robots. "Consider me turbed."

"I didn't know that the Big Blue had a brat." Ivo replied dryly, not a hint of nervousness in his voice as he ignored Superboy's obvious hostility and odd choice of words.

"He doesn't." Replied Superboy roughly.

Professor Ivo gave the clone a searching look at that, before waving his hand at him dismissively. "If you say so."

With that said, the professor looked away and instead smiled as several of his monkeys start to hover behind him.

"How did you like my Mobile Optimal Neural Quotient Infiltrators?" Ivo then continued, before with a wave the robots shot forwards. Chittering laughter erupting from the robotic monkey's mouths as they attacked Superboy.

In response Superboy began lashing out with his fists, smashing as many of them as he could. With him using brute force to rip and tear through the robots, grunting as they clawed at him and blasted him with their lasers.

Fortunately though, his durability held up and he manged to power through as he crushed and mangled several more of the monkeys.

"Hmm, if Ivo's Magnificent MONQIs don't float your boat, maybe my Amazing Amazo will better suit you." Ivo continued, his voice tinged with amusement at the names he had chosen to give his creations. If you couldn't make yourself laugh, then really, what was the point?

In response, a large, humanoid android exploded forward from the shadows. Closing in on Superboy before he had time to react, unleashing a punch that slammed into the clone's face, which it then followed through, sending the clone flying into the crates behind him.

"Or better _slay_ you." Ivo finished with a little giggle.

Pushing himself out of the wrecked crate, Superboy looked up to see the broad shouldered, six and half foot tall android approaching him. It was the same android that he had seen in Batman's footage, fighting against the Justice League.

"Accessing: Superman," Said Amazo in a tinny voice as it closed in on Superboy.

Narrowing his eyes, Superboy lunged at Amazo with a growl. Only for Amazo to catch the punch in its hand, stopping it with ease, after which it twisted and slammed a knee into Superboy's gut. Following through with this attack, Amazo then let loose an uppercut, launching Superboy through the roof and high into the air with strength comparable to Superman himself.

So strong was the blow in fact, that the clone was sent hurtling through the air and out of the railway yard, after which he crashed through the roof of a nearby school building, some several hundred feet away. With the clone crashing straight through several floors, only to end up landing in the middle of a large gym.

Groaning, Superboy made to stand up, however before he could a force from above smashed him back into the floor, creating a small crater beneath him as the wooden floorboards beneath him cracked and splintered.

Superboy had messed up, he knew that much. He had let his anger get the best of him and rushed in like an idiot. If he had spent a few minutes to think and strategise, like Perseus had told him, then he wouldn't be in this situation. If only he had exercised a bit of caution, and waited for a bit of back up.

Then again that hindsight was a bitch.

It was with that thought in mind that the clone was lifted up into the air, choking as the android's hand clenched around his throat, after which it unleashed a brutal punch into his gut, with the blow sending him flying backwards, blood spraying out of his mouth.

"Yes, crush him Amazo! Maim this wannabe hero!" Ivo called out gleefully, entering the gym himself now, before he took a seat on the nearby bleachers, surrounded by his mechanical MONQIs/ bodyguards.

"Superboy!" Aqualad's voice suddenly called out, attracting both Ivo, Amazo and Superboy's attention as he ran into the gym, Robin following after him, his water bearers active as he lashed out with a whip made of water.

"Accessing: Martian Manhunter." Amazo's voice rang out, even as the android suddenly became intangible. The whip of water passing through Amazo's head harmlessly. Two shurikens flying through after, both of them thudding into the floor a couple of metres away, after which they both exploded.

Turning to face its new opponents, Amazo's voice rang out once more. "Accessing: Captain Atom."

What followed next was a beam of energy erupting from Amazo's hand, one which made both Aqualad and Robin dive out of the way. Aqualad rolling to his feet on one side of Superboy his water bearers shifting into the shape of hammers, while Robin rolled to his feet on the clone's other side, his staff extended and at the ready.

"Come on you two, if we work together we can take it down!" Aqualad said, look to his two companions as he did so, the three of them now standing and circling the much taller android as it looked around at them with its cold, emotionless eyes.

 **( - )**

 **(Outside of the school)**

"Come on, it sounds like the fighting has started." Percy called out to both Miss Martian and Wally as they ran towards the building, the three of them just arriving, after having spent the last couple of hours following Aqualad's coordinates. Not that they needed his coordinates anymore, after all they had been able to hear the sound of fighting from nearly a mile back.

"I'll run ahead!" Wally said, looking to Percy as he did, before, upon Percy nodding, he grinned and blurred away.

"M'gann can you link us all up?" Percy asked as both he and Megan made to enter the school gym. Both of them listening to the sound of crashes and shouts, recognising the sound of Aqualad, Robin, Superboy, and the newly arrived Kid Flash as they fought with whoever, or whatever was inside.

Unsheathing his sword, Percy coated his body in a mine mist of water from the atmosphere as both he and M'gann burst into the gym. Both of them just in time to see Superboy sailing through the air just in front of them, as he crashed into a nearby wall.

"Accessing: Flash." Amazo's voice rang out, only for the android to disappear in a blur a few moments later, dodging around several strikes from Robin and Aqualad, as it instead shoulder charged Kid Flash, knocking him clear off of his feet.

"Accessing: Black Canary." Amazo continued, slamming a foot down on the winded Kid Flash's back, even as it open its mouth an unleashed a controlled, high pitch screech at the other two heroes.

"Arghh!" Aqualad cried out, as both he and Robin collapsed to their knees, both of them clasping their heads and covering their ears. Though noticeably blood could be seen dripping down Aqualad's neck, showing that he had not been quick enough to block out the high-pitched sound waves.

"Leave them alone!" Superboy roared as he pushed himself out of the wall and bull rushed the android, bellowing all the while as he leapt at him and attempted to grapple it off of Kid Flash.

"Accessing: Martian Manhunter." Amazo intoned, turning intangible as he did so, and allowing Superboy to hurtle straight through him.

"Accessing: Superman." Amazo continued, suddenly gripping Superboy's ankle as it did so, before it swung him up and around, after which it slammed him into the floor, once, twice, and then a third time, following on from which the android then tossed the clone into the recovering Aqualad and Robin.

"Accessing: Cap…" Amazo began to speak again.

Only this time the android never got a chance to finish, as without warning it was lifted up into the air by an invisible hand and tossed into the bleachers.

'Good work M'gann.' Percy thought to the now hovering Miss Martian.

'Thanks Percy'. M'gann replied with a smile.

'Right, it looks like Amazo has been rebuilt, and considering he gave the League trouble, I think we are going to need to work together to bring it down.' Percy began, using M'gann as a conduit to communicate with the rest of the team.

'What do you think we're doing?' Robin bit out, as he stood up shakily, both Aqualad and Superboy joining him, along with Wally as they all turned to watch Amazo stand up from the partially wrecked bleachers.

'Enough Robin, Perseus is right. We are all here now, and like he said we need to work together as one cohesive unit to bring Ivo's android down.' Aqualad cut in, looking to Percy now.

'Yeah, ok, fine!' Robin replied, not looking at Percy as he instead spun his staff in his hand and set himself into a fighting stance, facing the oncoming android.

'Good', because I have a plan!' Percy spoke up, his green eyes flitting around the gym taking in all of his surroundings, as he considered what he already knew about Amazo's abilities.

Oblivious to their mental communication, Professor Ivo chose that moment to speak up. "Oh how interesting, I didn't know there was another Martian. Guess the Big Blue wasn't the only one hiding a kid. Another Flash rip off too by the looks of it, and little Robin, you I at least knew about. The other one though, you I don't know!"

As he said that Ivo, from where he was sat at the top of the bleachers surrounded by a dozen MONQIs, looked down speculatively at Percy. His lips curving up into a smirk as he saw Amazo approaching them. "Analyse the newcomers Amazo, let's see whether they have anything useful to add to your repertoire!"

"Analysing… information downloaded." Amazo's voice rang out, its red lensed eyes flashing, before with a wave of the hand it sent Miss Martian flying into a nearby wall. "Accessing Miss Martian."

"Miss Martian!" Aqualad shouted, even as Superboy charged forward once more, Kid Flash shooting after him as he appeared behind Amazo, going for the knees even as Superboy barrelled towards the chest.

Neither of them made contact though, as without any warning Amazo shot up into the air and telekinetically blasted both Superboy and Kid Flash backwards. After which it dodged past several hastily thrown bird-a-rangs.

"Hmm, it looks like you are not as weak as the others," Ivo chuckled dryly, safe behind his swarm of MONQIs as he saw Amazo continue to fight off the young heroes. Overwhelming them as he lashed out with telekinetic power, knocking Kid Flash, Superboy, Aqualad and Robin around as they continued to use hit and run tactics on it. "Now try the other one."

With that the android's eyes flashed red again, its gaze fixed on the silently watching Percy. Who thus far had stood back, his ivory coloured sword resting gently on his shoulder as he followed the ongoing fight with his gaze

"We need to dissemble the android before it absorbs more powers." Aqualad shouted out, forming a pair of whips with his water bearers, which he then lashed out with, wrapping them around both of the android's ankles. Only for Amazo to take on Martian Manhunter's abilities and turn intangible.

"Good luck with that," Ivo chuckled leaning back on the bleachers. "Amazo finish them, priority alpha."

"That's easier said than done!" Robin shouted in response to Aqualad's words, as he threw several projectiles at the android, each of which exploded in midair, unleashing a wave of fire through the air.

"Accessing: Unknown." Amazo's voice rang out, even as it landed on the ground, its ability to fly no more, the earth beneath it shaking and the wooden floor boards cracking.

The moment it landed however, was the moment Percy struck. With barely a thought he lashed out with his free and, drawing upon all of the water he had been gathering up in the pipes around him over the last couple of minutes. In response to this actions, all of the pipes exploded due to the sudden overwhelming water pressure, with water exploding out all around the gym like geysers.

"Everyone get away!" Percy shouted, as he suddenly leapt forward, his every step measured as he manipulated the water, surrounding Amazo in a rapidly revolving orb of water.

"Foolish boy, haven't you realised what Amazo can do? He copies powers, all you're doing is giving him more ammo!" Ivo sneered from the bleachers, his face twisting into a nasty grin.

In response to that, Percy merely grinned, sweat noticeably beading on his forehead. His eyes fixed on the android to the exclusion of all else, even as it whipped its arms out attempting to manipulate the water.

Only for nothing to happen, as instead the water began to hiss, releasing acrid, foul smelling, and corrosive steam.

"Cover your mouths." Percy grunted as he began to shift his hands through the air.

"What! What the hell is going on!? What are you doing!?" Ivo shouted, his confidence fading rapidly as he leapt to his feet. His eyes widening even further as he saw Amazo's body had begun to dissolve. With the rare, organic, alien metal that made up its body noticeably starting to corrode.

"Your toy can copy powers sure, but it can't replicate decades upon decades of skill and experience with said powers. It can't develop them, and push them beyond the scope of what was previously thought possible." Percy grinned, shifting his hands again as he manipulated the Ph. of the water, turning it more and more acidic and corrosive as he manipulated it on a molecular level. A feat that required a lot of concentration, especially with sheer the quantity of water he was manipulating, all of which he had to fight for control over, even as he controlled and altered it.

"Amazo voice override, accessing: Super…!" Ivo began to shout, pulling out a small hand held device from his pocket as he did so, which he activated, only for the device to be knocked out of his hands and destroyed the moment he did so.

"It's over!" Percy shouted, before with another grunt he released his control on the orb of highly concentrated acid, allowing it to splash onto the floor.

The now armless, legless and deeply corroded body of Amazo landing on the wooden floor below with a clunk, its head noticeably melted, and the rest of its remains barely recognisable as it looked like little more than a hunk of steaming, melted metal.

With the hunk of metal even now continuing to dissolve, even as the floor beneath it was eaten away by the acid and it fell into the basement below and out of sight.

"No, how, what have you done… arghhh!" Ivo began, before his tone turned into high pitched shriek when he suddenly found his limbs frozen and his body lifted into the air, as if he were being held by a gigantic, invisible hand. The MONQIs that were surrounding him all getting blasted off of the bleachers, only for them to be destroyed by Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Superboy.

"What we did was follow a plan. Superboy, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin acted as a diversion, distracting you and your android. All the while I gathered the water I needed to finish Amazo." Percy began, a slight smile on his face as he looked around at the other, tired, but exultant heroes. "On top of that they also covered for Miss Martian whilst she went invisible and approached you from behind."

"Hi!" Miss Martian said cheerfully, becoming visible as she hovered just over Ivo, one of her hands extended and her eyes glowing green as she used her telekinesis to keep him incapacitated.

"Good job on destroying his override device by the way Miss Martian!" Aqualad added on, giving credit where credit was due. "That was some quick thinking on your part. I mean, we'd suspected that he might have had something like that, but even so, you saved us a lot of hassle there!"

M'gann's smile dimmed slightly at that. "I would like to say thanks, but that wasn't me. Someone else destroyed it before I got the chance!"

The others paused at that, all of them looking slightly confused, before Kid Flash blurred over to the remains of the device, only for him to then lean down and pull a long, green arrow out of the floor.

"Wait! This is Green Arrow's… arrow." Kid Flash said, a frown on his face as he approached the others, even as they congregated in the middle of the gym.

"The adults!" Robin growled, his previous smirk fading as he instead scowled, "They still don't trust us! They've been shadowing us this whole time!"

"Maybe." Percy muttered, not too concerned even if it was true. Instead he approached the still incapacitated Professor Ivo and placed his hand on his head.

With barely a sound Ivo then slumped over out cold, as Percy used a by now favoured trick of his to render people unconscious.

Seeing this M'gann released her telekinetic hold on Ivo, allowing him to fall to the floor with a thump, his head bouncing off of the ground loudly.

"Was that really necessary?" Aqualad asked dryly.

"Yes." Replied M'gann, not looking at Kaldur as she did so, as she instead walked to the hole in the ground and then used her telekinesis to lift the warped and melted remains of Amazo out of it. "Unless you want to carry this with your bare hands?"

"Point taken." Aqualad nodded.

"Wait isn't anyone at all bothered by the fact that Green Arrow has been following us this whole time?" Kid Flash asked, both him and Robin sporting incredulous looks at how nonchalant they rest of them were all acting.

"Not really, if it was one of the heavy hitters like Superman, Wonder Woman or Martian Manhunter, then yes, maybe. But considering how dangerous the cargo we were supposed to be protecting was, I am honestly not too bothered that they thought to put extra security on it. In fact I applaud the decision, though it would have been handy if the extra security had actually gotten their hands dirty when we were ambushed." Percy said, sheathing his blade now, not that he had actually needed it. After which he instead began to head for the exit.

"Hn, he has a point." Superboy grunted to Kid Flash and Robin, before both he, Aqualad and M'gann followed Percy. With both Robin and Wally sharing a look, before with a shrug they followed him too.

"M'gann can you call the Bioship down? We'll finish delivering the cargo to Star Labs, after which we'll deposit Ivo in custody and report back to the League." Percy said, sparing the mad scientist a speculative look as he did so.

The guy was a maniacal little shit, but in all honesty his android hadn't killed anyone, despite having the capabilities and the opportunity. In fact if anything it seemed as if Ivo had been testing his creation out, as opposed to just using it to cause mass death and destruction like he could have done.

"Right," M'gann nodded, before she closed her eyes and summoned her ship over.

"Urgh, I'll be glad when this is all over. This was not a fun mission!" Kid Flash groaned as they waited for the Bioship to arrive.

"A mission is not supposed to be fun, Kid!" Robin replied rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah I know. But still, it's good to have fun while you're working Robin!" Kid Flash retorted. After which the two of them soon started to squabble.

"How did you think the mission went Perseus?" Aqualad asked, ignoring the two bickering, younger teens as he instead looked to the leader of the team.

"I think, that we have a lot of work to do. We all dropped the ball today. But still, I think it is good that we managed to come together and deal with the consequences of our previous failure. You especially impressed me Aqualad, you did a good job taking charge of the other team." Percy replied, choosing his words carefully as he didn't want to get anyone down. Though at the same time he couldn't ignore how they technically failed the mission. Not that that stopped Aqualad from smiling slightly. "Oh yeah, and I've told you before, don't call me Perseus." Percy then continued.

"Then what should we call you dude, we can't just call you Percy, you have to have some kind of alias if you're a superhero!" Kid Flash butted in loudly, his words drawing the rest of the team's attention.

Percy paused as he heard that, his eyes narrowing. He had considered the whole alias thing before, and he knew it was about time that he picked one, after all heroes had secret identities and hero names and costumes for a reason.

"Alright then. You can just call me Riptide." Percy finally replied, smiling slightly as he saw all of them blink in surprise. "It's short, sweet and rolls off the tongue, plus it pays homage to my heritage."

"Riptide?" Aqualad echoed a slight frown on his face.

"Hmm, I like it!" Miss Martian cut in cheerily, even as the now visible Bioship land on the ground just in front of them.

 **( - )**

 **AN: Urghh, that was a pain in the arse chapter to write! Still I managed to get it out, and hopefully you enjoyed it! Still I am hoping to truly diverge from canon events soon as I want to start bringing in the New Gods, the Atlanteans and the Amazons and exploring the different races and cultures. Still needs must. I only hope you all enjoyed it?!**

 **Other than that I have chosen the name Riptide, thanks a lot for all of the response I received, many of which were very supportative, and very handy in helping my come to a decision.**

 **I've recently been watch a new to me series called, Attack on Titan, and it's kind of awesome. What would people think about a Percy Jackson/ Attack on Titan crossover? It could be interesting I reckon.**

 **Thanks a lot for reading and I hope you all leave a review!**

 **Please check out my other stories if you have the time. There are a lot of them!**

 **Greed720.**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Hey all, here I am again with my next chapter. I was originally going to update my PJ/GoT stroy, the Last King, but my muse has still not recovered from the shoddy Season 8. So sorry but you might need to wait for a week or two on that update. This story though, and several others, are all goign well. They're enjoyable to write and have a good following with lots of supporters. So thanks for that. With that in mind I hope you continue to enjoy the story and leave reviews and what not. I may not get around to answering all of the reviews, in part due to just how many stories I have on my plate at the moment, but I read everyone and appreciate them all the same. Even those that are negative.**

 **So yes, thanks for all the support. Hope you continue to enjoy the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the DC universe.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"_ _Then what should we call you dude, we can't just call you Percy, you have to have some kind of alias if you're a superhero!" Kid Flash butted in loudly, his words drawing the rest of the team's attention._

 _Percy paused as he heard that, his eyes narrowing. He had considered the whole alias thing before, and he knew it was about time that he picked one, after all heroes had secret identities and hero names and costumes for a reason._

 _"_ _Alright then. You can just call me Riptide." Percy finally replied, smiling slightly as he saw all of them blink in surprise. "It's short, sweet and rolls off the tongue, plus it pays homage to my heritage."_

 _"_ _Riptide?" Aqualad echoed a slight frown on his face._

 _"_ _Hmm, I like it!" Miss Martian cut in cheerily, even as the now visible Bioship land on the ground just in front of them._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 11**

 **( - )**

 **(Ten Months Ago, on the island of Themyscira)**

 _A loud, roar of anger and frustration erupted from the Gates of Tartarus, even as a bloodied hand exploded from out of the shadows. The distinctly human looking appendage gripping onto the edge of the gate, even as the figure it belonged to heaved himself through the gap he had created._

 _"For Blood and Honour, for Death and Glory, for the Gods!" Pyrrha shouted, her emerald green eyes narrowing, as she saw the figure continue to emerge, the ground below her trembling ominously, with rocks beginning to fall from the cavernous roof overhead, even as a cold, cruel wind seemed to swirl around the chamber._

 _"Unleash hell!" Pyrrha continued, letting loose a battle cry as she did so, her fellow warriors doing the same as they saw that the figure had finally pull himself loose from the gates of Tartarus, the great black, hell-forged metal gates slamming shut behind him with a deafening boom._

 _"Charge!"_

 **( - )**

 _Almost immediately, a storm of arrows flew through the air, passing in between Pyrrha and the other Amazonians as they charged the denizen of Tartarus. Rushing on mass in the hopes of either forcing it back into the Pits, or if that couldn't be achieved, killing it, before it could taint the mortal plane with its evil._

 _With all fifty of the guardians acting in perfect sync, as they acted as one, Pyrrha leading from the front, her burnished, bronze armour gleaming in the dimly lit cavern as she held her shield out in front of her, her spear held at the ready by her side. Also by her side, were twenty nine other similarly armoured and armed Amazonians, all of them charging on mass at the shadow enshrouded figure, even as twenty arrows shot passed them with devastating power and accuracy._

 _With a barely coherent roar the blood encrusted, demonic figure reacted, a pale blade, which looked to be made out of bone, whipping around as he slashed three of the arrows aside, even as he just about avoided the rest. With him loping forwards, moving oddly as he roared his own challenge. A pair of glowing green eyes burning from his shadowed form, even as the caverns shook once more, rubble falling from the roof, as all those present felt a sudden surge of power emanating from the blood encrusted figure._

 _"_ _Shield wall!" Pyrrha shouted, coming to a halt and thrusting her round shield forward, her spear still held at the ready, even as the other guardians came to a halt next to her, overlapping their shields as they made an all but impenetrable wall of enchanted steel._

 _"_ _Get out of my way!" The figure bellowed, furious waves of power rolling off of his figure now, even as he slashed out with his sword, batting away or avoiding the rain of arrows that continuously fell upon him._

 _"_ _Advance!" Pyrrha ordered, ignoring the monster's shout. Her spear held at the ready even as she pushed forward, the rest of her sisters doing the same. The wall moving forward as one, as they began trying to shunt the escaped monster backwards, encircling him and limiting his movement as they forced him between them and the gate._

 _In response to their actions, the figure let loose another roar, thrusting his free hand forward as he did so, ignoring the two arrows that managed to clip him as he stopped defending himself for a moment. One of them hitting him in the shoulder, and bouncing off, whilst the other struck him in the leg and sank deeply into the meat of his thigh._

 _Unfortunately, the advancing Amazonian's were not able to take advantage of the opening the arrow would have created, as instead they were all forced backwards, as with another bellow of anger the figure slammed his foot on the ground and thrust his hand forward._

 _At the exact moment that he did this, the earth beneath him exploded. Spires of stone erupting forth in a wave which expanded outwards from him, the earth beneath him cracking and the rest of the cave shaking, even as water began to force itself up through the cracks, as the man accessed a deep water aquifer far below the surface._

 _"_ _Stand fast!" Pyrrha roared, bracing herself against her shield as they shoved forward once more, the wall of enchanted steel meeting the wave of earthen spires. With them coming out the better for it as the spikes shattered against steel._

 _Still it bought the figure time, even as it sent the advancing Amazons into disarray and completely devastated the battlefield._

 _"_ _Break formation and charge!" Pyrrha shouted, darting forwards now as she leapt across the shattered ground, her shield and spear at the ready. The rest of her sisters doing the same, as they moved as a well-oiled machine, all thirty of them closing the last few metres between themselves and their opponent._

 **( - )**

 _Exhausted, Percy Jackson, could only growl as he saw the armoured, warrior women charge. His sea green eyes following their movements, even as he surrounded himself with water. The filth, blood and gold dust slewing off of his body as the water cleansed and revitalised him. Giving him a temporary boost in power and energy, even as it jolted him back to the here and now, giving his mind some much needed clarity._

 _Gripping his Drakonbone sword tightly, Percy grit his teeth as the dozens of striking, beautiful, bronze armoured women charged towards him. This is not what he had been expecting to face after escaping Tartarus._

 _Lifting his sword, Percy met the charge head on, the water surrounding his limbs lending him strength as he batted aside a spear thrust, from a long, red-haired beauty. With him moving with the momentum of his swing as he then kicked another armoured woman aside, and then clashed blades with three more._

 _Swinging his sword around, Percy quickly began to shape the water now cloaking him, extending the length of his sword as he lashed out, a dome like shield slowly expanding around his body. The water almost sentient in how it batted and blasted the attacking women away, even whilst weathering an ongoing hail arrows. The arrows striking much harder than he had expected as they almost pierced his watery shield on multiple occasions._

 _"_ _Box him in, and then surround him!" The redhead shouted out again, her fellow warriors reacting to her words in an instant, as they spread around Percy using their shields to defend themselves from tendrils and blasts of water and ice, even as those with spears jabbed at him. Whilst those with swords, axes and maces darted forwards the moment they saw a gap, their fellow warriors covering them as they did so._

 _Snarling internally at this, Percy could feel his strength flagging. He had already been weakened when he escaped Tartarus, and although the water had alleviated some of his fatigue, it was not a permanent fix._

 _No, the only thing that would sort that out was sleep, rest and sustenance._

 _Swinging his sword around, Percy once more found himself clashing with the redhead. His eyes nearly glowing in the gloom as his sword met her spear, both weapons clashing furiously as he pushed forwards, denying her the distance she required to fully utilise her weapon._

 _This woman was the leader, Percy had picked up on that much._

 _With that in mind he also deemed it possible, that by bringing her down, he could send the rest into disarray. It was his only hope, after all as they were at the moment, he was struggling. Not only because he was tired, but also because these women, whoever they were, were disciplined, skilled, highly trained and experienced._

 _More than that though, they were also supernaturally strong, agile and durable._

 _The few blows he had managed to land had been shaken off with relative ease. A kick which he knew should have broken ribs, regardless of their armoured breastplate, did no more than wind these women._

 _Now Percy knew he wasn't the strongest out there, he knew many others both gods, Titans, giants and monsters that were many, many times stronger than him. But at the same time he did know he was stronger than a normal mortal, at least twice as strong, as the strongest human was, at their peak._

 _As such he knew he should be able to cleave through his attackers._

 _Only that wasn't happening, these women were able to at least match him, even if they weren't able to overpower him._

 _Letting loose an almost feral growl, Percy decided on a different tact._

 _Thrusting his hand out, he expanded the dome like shield around him, solidifying the water as he forced his attackers away. All of which gave him the space he needed to concentrate on his next attack._

 _Unfortunately, this was something the warrior women seemed to notice, because as he did this, they noticeably renewed their assault with increasing ferocity. With his watery shield starting to buckle in response to the onslaught, as the fifty or so women bombarded it, attacking it with their weapons as they tried to force their way through his defences, so as to engage him directly._

 _Grunting at this, Percy's concertation began to break as he struggled to both maintain the barrier and focus on what he wanted to do next._

 _Gritting his teeth, Percy flexed his hand, manipulating the shield as he drew on more water from the aquifers below him, thickening the shield, even as he forced spikes of water to explode forth from it in all directions._

 _His action garnering a wave of shouts and curses in response, as the spikes drove the woman back, some of them even drawing blood. Though none of them reaped a life, as the women once again proved their skill and agility as they reacted quickly to the sudden change in the barrier._

 _Not that this bothered Percy too unduly though, instead he took the time this bought him, and used it to his advantage as he closed his eyes and drew on this father's Doman of Earthquakes._

 _The earth below him was constantly in motion as the tectonic plates far, far below bumped and ground against one another. All of which created energy, as the earth shifted and moved, in response. Energy which Percy could manipulate to create his own earthquakes if he chose to, or, as he was doing right now, absorb it into his body and use as he pleased._

 _And that was exactly what Percy did now, his eyes closing as he absorbed the energy from the earth, causing the ground below him to cease moving for several seconds as he redirected the energy into himself. Which in turn caused the ground beneath him to quake and crack, even as aftershocks shot through the entire island as the land in this one spot ceased to move, even as the rest of the earth continued to vibrate and shift._

 _All around Percy, the Amazonians stumbled as the ground beneath them cracked and began to shake, the rest of the cavern shaking even more as the roof over their heads began to crumble._

 _Beyond the cavern, buildings on Themyscira collapsed or cracked, even as the cliffs along the coast broke apart and fell into the frothing, angry sea, the mountains on the island also crumbled, with scree sliding down the sides in tsunamis of rubble and rock._

 **( - )**

 _"_ _What!" Pyrrha shouted out, struggling to stay on her feet as the cavern shook, and more rubble fell from the roof. "He's trying to bring down the MOUNTAIN!"_

 _"_ _Press forwards, we have to stop him!" Another Amazonian shouted, their iron resolve and discipline breaking slightly, as the ancient warriors steadied themselves and charged forward, fighting with renewed ferocity against their foe._

 _All of them were now aware that the being they fought was beyond any single one of them. But not against the combined might of the guardians, women that had dedicated their lives to guarding the Gates of Tartarus. With some of them having spent centuries and even millennia honing their skills, and training, pushing themselves to their limits and beyond to safeguard the mortal world from the eldritch monsters of myth and legend that dwelled in the depths of the Pit._

 _"_ _Attack as one sisters, remember your training!" Pyrrha shouted, regaining control, even as yet more aftershocks exploded outwards from the man's now glowing form. The redhead's green eyes narrowing, as she saw what she was facing off with clearly for the first time._

 _The being, for this could be no mortal, had the looks of an average man, though his build was impressive, and his long, shaggy, matted black hair, fur coat and numerous scars gave him a distinctly feral look._

 _The most distinctive thing about the man though were his eyes, which even now she could see were glowing a fiery, phosphorescent green. With the rest of his body also starting to glow from within, a bronze light emanating from seemingly within his body, even as his shaking hands raised into the air, his bone sword held up so the point was facing the earth._

 _"_ _Take him, now!" Pyrrha snapped, flipping her spear up and hurling it at him, even as she saw the water dome around him had dispersed, the shockwaves tearing it apart, just as it tore apart the earth below._

 _Her spear though never even got close to him, nor did any of her sister's attacks. As at that exact moment, the man brought his sword down and slammed it into the earth. After which Pyrrha knew nothing but pain, as a literal wall of force blew outwards from him. The wall striking all of the charging Amazonians head on and blasting them away from him. Even as the wall expanded outwards, blowing the surrounding cavern to pieces and sending the remnants hurtling in every direction._

 **( - )**

 _With a last roar, Percy released all of the energy from his body, the wave of seismic energy he unleashed blowing his attackers away, just as it blew apart the surrounding cavern._

 _Gasping out a breath a few seconds later, Percy wrenched his sword out of the ground and looked up, his eyes closing in glorious rapture as he felt the sunlight streaming down upon him, bathing him in its warm embrace for the first time in nearly a century._

 _When he opened his tired eyes a few moments later though, ignoring the groans of his attackers as they struggled to get up, the rapturous smile soon left his face as his gaze locked on the shadowed figure that drifted down from overhead._

 _It was a beautiful, statuesque woman, one that was wielding a gleaming silver sword in one hand, and what looked like a glowing, golden rope in the other._

 _Focusing in on her, Percy could see that the woman also had thick, waist length, black hair that floated about behind her in the wind, and cold, piercing blue eyes. Eyes which were currently fixed on Percy with unnerving intensity, and barely concealed rage._

 _"_ _When will this end." Percy growled, staggering upwards as he did so, his body aching in a hundred different places as he raised his sword and prepared to fight. "Well then, come on witch! Come taste the wrath of the Poseidon's most powerful son!"_

 **( - )**

 **(With Percy, in the present)**

Waking up in his bed, his body bathed in sweat, a low groan left Percy's lips as he wearily pushed himself up. His back cracking slightly as he shifted this way and that. Peeling his bedsheets off of him and smacking his lips as he began to get up.

He had not had a good night's sleep.

Pushing himself up, Percy paused only long enough to down the glass of water from his bedside table, after which he allowed himself to fall to the floor, catching himself on his hands as he then did one hundred press-ups in quick succession. With this then being followed by one hundred sit-ups, and then one hundred pull-ups as he did his earlier morning, warm up routine.

After that he then grabbed a shower from his on-suite, delighting in the cool, refreshing water cascading down his back. Allowing himself to get wet as he scrubbed the sweat off of his body, and luxuriated in the strength he could feel suffusing his body from being in contact with the water. It may not be as good as seawater, but it was a damn sight better than nothing.

Following on from that he got dressed in a baggy T-shirt, a pair of board shorts and some flip-flops, the rest of his kit all resting either on the weapons racks in his room, or on one of the faceless, wooden mannequins he had in the corners.

Stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders as he left his room, and headed for the kitchen, Percy pushed aside the memories that had assailed him in his dream last night. His memories of his first few minutes on this world.

Suffice to say he had not received a warm welcome from the Amazonians.

But that was all in the past. In the present, his stomach growled, demanding sustenance. Which was something that he was more than happy to oblige as he wandered into the kitchen, giving both M'gann and Superboy a nod and a standard 'morning'. Before he then got himself a bowl of cereal and sat himself down at the kitchen counter.

Both M'gann and Superboy greeting him in turn as he did so, both of them looking just as tired as Percy. Though considering their mission to deliver Amazo's remains had been just the previous day, maybe their tiredness wasn't unexpected. Plus after the mission Batman had given them his standard debrief, with the Dark Knight bitching and moaning at them about their performance for over an hour, despite them having successfully accomplished the goal of the mission.

Superboy in particular had gotten an earful from the Dark Knight, especially after Robin had reported how he had allowed his emotions to get the best of him and stormed off, which in turn had led to him falling into a trap. Which the others had all in turn been dragged into, after they went to help the clone.

Percy and Aqualad too had come under fire for this fuck up as well. Aqualad because he had been given a temporary leadership positon over Team B, a positon he had failed to live up to when the unstable clone had run off. Though Batman at least acknowledged that the screw up wasn't all Aqualad's fault, hence why Superboy had gotten such an earful. So much so, that he had ended up training late into the night under Black Canary's watchful eye, as he tried to blow off steam.

As well as Aqualad and Superboy, Batman had also tried to grill Percy too. Both about his leadership, and about how he had put Aqualad in charge of the overly emotional clone instead of keeping Superboy near him. On top of that, he had also laid into Percy about the damage that had been done to Amazo, which was as such an extent that the scientist at Star Labs would struggle to get anything from the remains.

This in turn had then led to Batman once again attempting to interrogate Percy about his abilities and origins.

Suffice to say Percy hadn't responded to Batman's attempted interrogation well. First off by fiercely defending his strategy, and then pointing out that they had had to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, and yet had still pulled off the mission. After which he had then basically told Batman to fuck off when he had had a go at him over Amazo's condition and his abilities.

Though of course, he didn't literally tell the Dark Knight to fuck off, at least not yet.

Instead he had just said, that he put the safety of the team first, and thus neutralised the android as swiftly and as efficiently as he was able. After which he had just ignored Batman's questions about his abilities, by just walking off and leaving the Dark Knight hanging.

Yeah, he doubted Batman was going to be too chuffed about that.

"How did you sleep?" M'gann asked Percy tiredly, eyeing her dark haired leader as she saw him fill up a large bowl with frosted shreddies.

"Fitfully." Percy replied easily, pouring milk onto his cereal, before he started digging into his breakfast. "What about you two? Have you been up long?"

"About an hour." M'gann shrugged, brightening up now. "Pretty well rested too. Or at least better than Superboy."

Superboy grunted at that, looking up from his breakfast as he did so, the dark bags under his eyes standing out, even as he gave Percy a nod and then went back to eating.

"He was up until nearly midnight training." M'gann continued, sending Superboy a smile as she did so. "He's really started to get into it."

"That's good, technique is important. It helps you bring the out best in your natural abilities." Percy nodded.

Superboy grunted again at that, before swallowing and looking up. "You're right, and Black Canary said as much. If I ever want to match up to Superman, I'll need to refine my fighting style, work in some martial arts so I can make up for my deficiencies."

Percy nodded at that, a slight smile playing around his face. The clone was slowly but surely wising up, it was gradual, and it would take time. But he definitely had potential, all he needed to do was get a bit more training, and continue to grow as a person, and improve his attitude. Once that was done, Percy was pretty sure he would become a damn, good hero.

M'gann smiled as she saw this. Looking between the two quiet, but still affable, dark haired teens in contentment, before she went back to eating her breakfast.

With the three of them whiling away the next half an hour or so chatting about their plans for the rest of the morning. With their afternoon having already been planned out for them, as the others were all set to arrive at around lunchtime in order to take part in 'team bonding' trip to the beach. An outing that M'gann had planned the previous day, after having noticed that there was a little bit of friction in the team at the moment.

That being said, M'gann had already set aside some of her time this morning to put together a picnic for their trip to the beach, after which she said wanted to read a few of her new books so that she would be prepared for the upcoming school year.

With both M'gann and Superboy having been enrolled in the local high school by Batman, so as to help them both better mix in with humanity. Plus it would also allow them to have a life outside of the team.

The Dark Knight had also suggested the same for Percy, only for that idea to be swiftly shot down by the Demigod in question. Much to Batman's displeasure, though against Percy's will, and Diana's support, there wasn't much he could say.

Superboy meanwhile had already decided what he would be doing for the first half of the day, before the rest of the team arrived. As was becoming typical, he had decided he would do some training. Apparently Black Canary had really had an impact on him, and had already sent through a new regime for him to try out earlier this morning.

As for Percy, he personally wanted to head to the beach now, after all it had been a while since he had last been for a swim in the sea.

Despite that desire though, he grudgingly agreed to spar with Superboy first. After all the clone wasn't the only one who needed to improve his skill in hand to hand combat.

 **( - )**

 **(A little while later)**

There was a slight smile on M'gann's face as she leant against the kitchen counter, her attention only partially on the cookies she had in the oven. With the rest of her attention instead being focused on the two dark haired teens fighting it out in the centre of Mount Justice's main chamber.

Both of them fighting full on, pushing themselves to their limits as they went back and forth, their faces and bodies beaded with sweat as they punched, jabbed and kicked at one another.

Already Percy had pulled his shirt off, leaving him in just his shorts as he danced around on his bare feet. His arms up and in a guarded positon, and his fists clenched as he darted around the clone, unleashing brutal jabs and punches whenever he found an opening in Superboy's guard.

Superboy meanwhile had adopted a somewhat similar approach, with his arms having been raised so as to defend his head and ribs, all the while leaving him at the ready to unleash devastatingly powerful punches whenever he got the chance. Unlike Percy however, Superboy had chosen a different strategy for the spar, as he weathered the older teen's assault, relying on his durability and defences to tire the older teen out as he looked for an opening.

So far their latest bout, the fourth one of the day, had been going on for about ten minutes, and already they were both covered in bruises and red welts. Both of them breathing heavily as they weaved around one another, Percy's tanned, muscled arms darting out to land jabs, only for Superboy to shift around and either avoid them, or block them with his forearms.

M'gann smiled as she saw this. They were getting better, both of them learning from one another as they progressed.

Already Percy had learned not to try and wrestle or grapple with the clone, as despite his strength, he was neither strong enough, nor durable enough to take Superboy down. Even with Percy's superior technique, Superboy's sheer strength overwhelmed him ninety nine percent of the time.

With that in mind, Percy had instead relied on his boxing, with him also landing the occasional knee, elbow or kick at the clone too, but only when he found a gap, and knew he could land a strike and then get away before the stronger boy could catch him.

Superboy meanwhile had learned not to jsut take Percy's punches head on, but to instead defend himself, as whilst not using his powers, Percy's blows still packed enough of a punch to disorientate him if he landed a well-placed one. The blow to his chin, followed up by Percy's sweeping his leg behind Superboy's legs and barging him off of his feet and onto his arse, was proof enough of that.

Suffice to say that initial loss of the first bout had spurred Superboy on in the three later ones, just as it had forced him to adjust his strategy when fighting the older, and more experienced hero.

Focusing in on the latest bout, M'gann watched as Superboy suddenly sprung forwards, suddenly going from the defensive to the offensive. His brow furrowed as he lashed out with rapid right and left hooks, each one carrying enough force to put an average man down for the count.

In response Percy back stepped, a scowl on his face as he avoided the wild swings. His reflexes were exceptional as he weaved in between Superboy's assault, his eyes never leaving the boy's face as he reacted on instinct.

"Stop dodging!" Superboy growled, bulling forwards once more, forcing Percy to veer off and avoid him. The older teen unleashing a rapid punch into his ribs as he did so.

"That would be a bit counterproductive wouldn't it?" Percy replied glibly, his voice slightly more haggard than usual as he eyed Superboy cautiously.

Superboy didn't reply to that, as he instead eyed Percy warily.

Narrowing his eyes at this, Percy weaved left and right, his feet moving quickly as he made a sudden feint to the right, which in turn made Superboy lunge left. Only for Percy to then dart forwards, changing tact as he got in close and landed a knee in Superboy's gut. The force of the blow making Superboy grunt and lean forward, but nothing more.

That though was all Percy needed, as after two straight losses, he was in the mood for another win. Which is why, as he felt Superboy react, his two, steel like arms suddenly grabbing Percy around the waist, he forcefully raised his right elbow and slammed it down on the back of Superboy's neck as hard as he could.

"Gah!" Superboy cursed, losing his footing and his grip on Percy's waist as he felt the blow on the base of his skull.

Gritting his teeth, Percy wrapped both of his arms around the clone's waist, and then thrust his leg out and threw him over his hip and onto the ground.

"Ooph!" Superboy gasped, not unduly hurt by the throw, but somewhat disorientated all the same.

"Got you!" Percy growled, darting forwards now and grabbing one of Superboy's arms as the clone struggled to get up. Percy's own arm muscles bulging as he twisted the clone's arm behind his back, locking it in place, even as he rammed his knee into Superboy's spine, pinning him to the ground.

"Argh, shit!" Superboy cursed, picking up on some of Percy's own foul language as he struggled to find the leverage and room to break free of the arm lock, and of the weight forcing him down to the ground.

"Do you yield?!" Percy grunted, sweat pouring down his forehead as he struggled to keep the Kryptonian clone down.

"No!" Superboy growled.

Percy had to hold back a sigh at this. This was how the clone had won the last bout, he had refused to yield and had instead tired Percy out as he continued to struggle, until at last he had broken free and landed a luck blow to the Demigod's head.

It was annoying, and also somewhat of novel experience to him, but the Kryptonian's strength, stamina and durability were all superior to Percy's, which meant if it came down to a battle of attrition that he would lose.

With that in mind, Percy raised his free hand and began whaling on the back of Superboy's head. Using his own enhanced strength to smash the clone's skull into the ground, and rattle his brain.

"Yield!" Percy grunted, hissing in pain as he saw how the clone's invulnerable skin had made the knuckles of his free hand bloody and bruised. Fortunately they were injuries he could heal up quite swiftly if he used his Demigod abilities, but unfortunately he had decided not to use his abilities in the spar. Instead he was just using his natural strength, durability, agility, skill and ingenuity to win.

"No!" Superboy retorted, his tone noticeably feebler now.

"Yield, you wanker!" Percy cursed, falling back on a fun new insults he'd decided to try out.

"Gah, fine!" Superboy growled out reluctantly, turning his head to the side so he could get the words out clearly. "I yield!"

"Good." Percy nodded, satisfaction clear in his tone as he released Superboy's arm and pushed himself back to his feet, ignoring the sudden chill that came over him as the cool air within the mountain rushed over his sweat drenched form.

"Are you two done now?" M'gann asked cheerfully, taking to the air as she floated over the kitchen counter and towards her two teammates.

"No, I can go again!" Superboy replied, raising his clenched fist and sending Percy a challenging glare as he did so.

"Yes, I think I'm done." Percy spoke up at the exact same time, answering M'gann's question as he rolled his shoulder and headed for the kitchen.

"Wait what! You're done already!" Superboy asked, an incredulously look on his face as he saw Percy make it to the kitchen sink, after which got himself a glass of water.

"Yep," Percy replied simply, taking a sip of his water with a satisfied smile. His smile remaining in place as he then up ended the glass over his head, water splashing down onto his head, before it then ran down the rest of his face and body. "It's time for the beach!"

"Oh yeah you're right!" M'gann nodded, pulling out her phone as she prepared to send Kaldur, Wally, and Robin another message in order to chivvy them along.

"Ok I sent them all a message. They should all be here soon, so let's go get our swimsuits on!" With that said, M'gann closed her eyes for a moment, her clothes beginning to recede as she did so, before they then formed into a yellow bikini top with matching shorts. "How do I look?" She then asked, striking a pose with her hands on her hips.

"Nice." Superboy nodded, retaining enough tact to compliment a pretty girl when she asked, even if he was still visibly disappointed about not getting another spar out of Percy.

"You look good." Percy nodded, a slight smile on his face.

"Thanks," M'gann replied, her cheeks going a little pink at the compliments, even as she then quickly turned away and started putting together the last few bits for the picnic, including the recently baked, and now cooling cookies she had just pulled out of the oven.

Smiling slightly at the younger girl's shyness, Percy clapped Superboy on the shoulder once, before he turned around and headed for his room, pausing only long enough to grab his T-shirt as he went to get his swim shorts on. "Good session today Superboy."

"Yeah, you too." Superboy nodded after a moment, smiling slightly himself, before he then went to get his own kit on.

A few minutes later found the three of them, now all in their swimsuits, waiting for the others in front of the Zeta Tubes. With Superboy having put on a pair of plain black swim shorts, whilst Percy's were a bit more of a flashy blue colour, with tacky white floral patterns.

" **Recognised Robin, B01."**

" **Recognised Aqualad, B02."**

After a couple of minutes of idle chit chat, the machines tinny voice, and dual beams of light, announced Robin and Aqualad's arrival.

"Yo," Robin waved as he strode into the main chamber of Mount Justice, wearing his civilian clothes as oppose to his usual, caped costume. Noticeably though he still wore a pair of black sunglasses which covered up his eyes and a part of his upper face, just like his mask usually did.

"Hello," Kaldur said as he walked in, smiling to the other three in greeting, before he focused in on M'gann. "I am sorry M'gann, I am not sure if he told you, but Wally won't be able to make it today."

Laughter erupted from Robin as Kaldur said that. "School started for him today," Robin snorted, a few gleeful chuckles escaping his mouth at the thought of his friend suffering. "He was so bummed out when he found out we were going to the beach without him."

Percy rolled his eyes at this childish reaction, though his lips did admittedly quirk upwards at the thought of how the speedster was going to react, it probably would be pretty amusing.

"Well, since we are all here let's get going!" M'gann said unperturbed by Wally's absence, he hadn't mentioned previously when she first suggested the plan that he couldn't make it, but still he might make it later, depending on how long they stayed at the beach that is.

 **( - )**

 **(Sometime later)**

"It is such a beautiful day," M'gann smiled, her warm hazel eyes gleaming in excitement as she looked out at the peaceful sea, and the quiet beach, delighting in the feeling of the warm sunlight as it shone down upon her.

The rest of the group smiled too as they all lounged around in the sand, relaxing in the summer sun, and just enjoying a nice peaceful day out. All of the previous tensions and difficulties fading away, as they all just unwound.

Looking around with a grin, Robin raised his hand for attention. "Wait a moment, let's take a second to remember our fallen comrade." With that said, he lowered his head in dramatic fashion.

M'gann nodded in agreement as she heard Robin, though noticeably her smile didn't fade. "Yes, poor Wally."

"Yes, poor Wally, now let's go have fun!" Kaldur said, his tone initially solemn, before becoming quite cheerful as both he and Percy headed for the sea. The rest of them meanwhile just doing their own thing, with M'gann and Robin building sandcastles, whilst Superboy just lounged about in the sun.

Diving into the water, Percy delighted in the strength he could feel suffusing his limbs, even as he shot through the water like a torpedo. With Kaldur swimming rapidly alongside him for a time, both of them racing as they shot through the depths of the water. Navigating the murky deeps with ease.

"I have to say, seeing the way you move in the water it lends credence to my theory that you're an Atlantean, or have at least some Atlantean heritage." Kaldur said after a couple of minutes of swimming, as both of them floated just a foot off of the seabed, a couple of hundred metres off of the coast.

Percy sent Kaldur an amused look at that comment. He was feeling in a much better mood than he had been in a while now, the familiar comfort the sea gave him putting him at ease as he gently began to swim again.

"Well, I wouldn't say I was an Atlantean like you Kaldur. At the same time though, I do have a blood connection to Atlantis and the sea." Percy shrugged, looking at Kaldur speculatively now, pondering whether he should just tell the younger boy his heritage as he did so.

It wouldn't be like he was giving away his whole backstory after all, though at the same time he didn't quite trust Kaldur. A part of him suspected that the Atlantean would tell Aquaman, Robin and Kid Flash anything Percy told him, which meant that the information would then get back to Batman one way or another.

This in turn would lead to Batman once again trying to interrogate him and force information out of him so he could create safeguards to deal with him should he go rogue, which would definitely alienate Percy.

Diana had already warned him of Batman and his paranoia.

On top of that he knew that most of the rest of the team were keeping secrets, he could sense that much, so therefore why should he give up his secrets if no one else was willing too? Hell, Robin didn't even show his face to them, despite them being a team.

Kaldur, ignorant of Percy's inner thoughts, just frowned in confusion as he heard Percy's contradictory comment. "I don't understand?"

Percy also frowned as he heard this, tilting his head to the side in thought, before with a sigh he shrugged. "I would have thought it was clear. I am not like you Kaldur, you are a part of Atlantis as it is now. Me however, I am apart of Atlantis as it was, back when it first sank beneath the waves in ancient times, and when it was ruled over by the original King, the god of the sea."

"Poseidon?" Kaldur said immediately, his expression intense as he heard Percy open up for the first time since he had met him. His blue eyes locking on the amused smile on his face for a moment, before they trailed down to the ancient Roman 'SPQR' tattoo on his arm, the one which had a trident running through it. "Or Neptune as I suppose you could call him."

The slight smirk that spread across Percy's face, was all Kaldur needed to see to know he was on the right track.

"But Lord Neptune ascended from the mortal plane millennia ago." Kaldur said his brow furrowed in confusion as he eyed Percy curiously, before a few moments later a look of realisation spread across his face. "You're a member of an Atlantean sect that never acknowledged any of the other Kings after Neptune, aren't you!? I didn't think any of those sects remained!"

Percy blinked in surprise as he digested Kaldur's words, before after a few moments he began to laugh.

"What?" Kaldur asked with a frown.

"Sorry, it's just I'm surprised at the conclusion you jumped too." Percy replied, still chuckling slightly as the two of them began to swim to the surface.

"So if that is not the case, what is the truth?" Kaldur asked, a trace of irritation in his tone now.

"That I am not entirely human, in fact barely a sliver of me is human. Nor am I an Atlantean, nor am I an alien, and I am certainly not an Amazonian." Percy grinned, laying yet more clues as he decided he would let them work it out on their own. After all if he bluntly told them, the chances were that they wouldn't believe him. If they discovered on their own though, then that way they were more likely to believe. That and it was more entertaining this way.

With that thought in mind, Percy didn't answer any more of Kaldur''s questions, as he instead breached the surface a few minutes later and then began swimming for the beach, his stomach rumbling as he saw M'gann had started setting out her beachside picnic.

 **( - )**

 **(Later that day)**

It was later on that day, when the sun had started to set that the group returned to Mount Justice. With all of them then quickly stripping out of their swimming suits and gearing up in their mission clothes as they then met up in the main chamber of Mount Justice, all of them waiting for the recent team meeting that Batman had called for, only half an hour earlier, to begin.

"Good you're here." Batman said bluntly, looking to Percy as he was the last one to arrive, with him having taken a while longer to get ready, as he had had to pull on the black, armoured suit that had been made for him, for covert operations. Though this time he had just done away with the constrictive helmet, though he kept his Drakonbone sword sheathed at his side.

"Yep, what's the meeting about?" Percy replied, nodding to the others as he saw that they were all in their costumes too. Which made sense as by the sounds of it they had been called together for another mission, after all why else would they have been gathered here, and on such short notice too.

"In a minute," Said Batman, "We're waiting on one other, and she should be here soon."

"She?" Aqualad asked, looking around at the gathered group of heroes in confusion.

At the exact moment that he said this, the Zeta Tubes activated and Red Tornado and Green Arrow walked in, the machine announcing them as it did so.

Following along behind them, there was one other. An unfamiliar girl who had; long blonde hair which had been pulled back in a ponytail, grey eyes, and looked to be in her mid to late teens.

With the girl in question also wearing costume, one which consisted of a green top with a full-headed, green mask, which in turn matched the green combat trousers she was wearing, and her heavy combat boots.

Across her back Percy also quickly noticed that she carried a quiver and a folded up compound bow.

"Team, meet your newest member," Batman said as the new girl came closer, Red Tornado and Green Arrow moving over to stand beside the Dark Knight as he did so, "Artemis."

"Hi," The girl greeted confidently, giving a half wave as her sharp eyes roved over the other teens, before eventually coming to rest on Percy, her grey eyes narrowing slightly as she saw the odd look of bemused surprise flicker across his face. "What's up?"

"Hey," Percy greeted after a couple of moments of silence, taking a step forwards as he did so, "Artemis. Like the Greek Goddess of the Hunt right, an interesting choice of alias for a bow wielding heroine."

Artemis's eyes narrowed a fraction at his words, her gaze locking with his as she ponder on his words, before, after a few moments, she smiled. "Thanks, and you are?"

"Riptide, your new leader I suppose." Percy replied, extending his hand to Artemis as he did so, his sea green eyes still twinkling.

"Good to meet you." Artemis nodded, taking the offered hand and smiling at the warm welcome.

Seeing Percy's actions, the rest of the team made to move forward so that they could greet Artemis too. However before they could, the Zeta Tube once again activated, even as Wally ran into the room, letting loose a cry of victory as he did so. The red-haired teen, noticeably bare-chested, and wearing a pair of swimming shorts, and carrying several different pieces of beach paraphernalia.

"The Wall-Man is here!" Wally crowed as he strode into the room, oblivious of all else, "Now let's get this party star-" he made to continued, only for him to then trip over the beach umbrella he was carrying and fall to the ground with a grunt. Batman, Green Arrow and Red Tornado all looking down on him with the rest of the team as he came to land right in the centre of the group.

"-ted?" Wally trailed off sheepishly, as he finally became aware of his surroundings.

"Wall-Man, huh?" Artemis said with a smirk, releasing Percy's hand as she instead looked down on the red-haired speedster in amusement. "Love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?"

Hearing that, Wally stood up with a scowl and brushed himself off, his eyes fixed on the pretty, yet unfamiliar girl mocking him. "Uh, who's this?"

Aqualad took a step forward, about to say something, only for Artemis to beat him to the punch. "Artemis, your new teammate."

"Kid Flash, never heard of you." Wally replied quickly, his green eyes flicking around at the rest of his team as if to make sure that what the girl was saying was true.

Hearing this, and seeing the curiousity on the rest of the team's face, Green Arrow took this as his moment to speak as he stepped forward and put a hand on Artemis's shoulder. "She's my new protégé."

"What happened to your old one?" Percy asked with a frown, something niggling at the back of his mind as he asked this question. He was pretty sure someone had mentioned Green Arrows old sidekick before.

" **Recognised Speedy, B04."**

Coincidently, it was at the exact moment that Percy asked that question, that the Zeta Tubes activated once more and Speedy stepped out. The redhead wearing a new red and black getup with combat pants as oppose to his old yellow and red costume.

"For starters, I don't go by Speedy anymore," The redhead growled, as he walked forward his brow noticeably furrowed behind his mask as he gazed around at all those present, "Call me Red Arrow."

"Roy," Green Arrow said, releasing Artemis as he instead took a step towards his old protégé, "You look..."

"Replaceable?" Red Arrow interrupted bluntly.

"It's not like that, you told me you were going solo." Green Arrow shot back, his voice strong despite a guilty look flashing across his face at the accusation.

"So why waste time finding a sub? Can she even use that bow?" Red Arrow retorted aggressively, ignoring the others as he instead focused in on Green Arrow and Artemis.

Hearing the challenge in his voice, Artemis stepped forward and stood in front of Red Arrow. "Yes, she can!"

"Who are you?" Wally once again asked, looking between his friend, Red Arrow, and the new girl.

"I'm his niece," Artemis replied swiftly, jerking her thumb at Green Arrow as she did so.

"She is not your replacement… Red Arrow," Kaldur finally spoke up, his tone calm, "We have always wanted you on our team, and we have no quota for archers."

"And if we did, you know who we'd chose," Wally interjected with a pointed look at Artemis.

"Hn, whatever baywatch," Artemis bit out, folding her arms and glaring at Wally as she did so, "I'm here to stay."

"Red Arrow," Percy finally spoke up, his voice cutting through the tension and getting the group's attention as he took a step forward. His lips quirking up in amusement as he fought down his desire to mock 'Red Arrow' for his derivative name and costume, especially when he was trying to make himself out as being independent, and not a sidekick or a hero in training

"Ah, yes, the killer" Red Arrow sneered, his lip curling upwards as he eyed Percy disdainfully. "I've heard about you, Riptide, isn't it? A rookie like the Ms. Martian and Superboy, only one that's more dangerous, and who has no control over themselves and their power."

If he was trying to provoke him, he failed, instead the Percy just sent the boy and amused look. His eyes flashing over to Robin for a moment, before returning to Red Arrow.

"I wonder which ignorant, immature child told you that." Percy said dryly, fighting down a smirk as he saw Robin flinch, and then scowl. "But I think the fact that I was made leader should make it quite clear. I am not out of control, nor am I incompetent. You though, well the jury's still out on you. As far as I can see, you're nothing but an egotistical, spoiled little child, one that is throwing his toys out of his pram and crying when he doesn't get his own way."

Red Arrow's face flushed red at that, his jaw tightening as he took a step forward, his face contorting in anger.

"Enough." Batman said sternly, his voice causing all of them to pause as he looked around at them.

With Red Arrow looking to be on the verge of kicking off with Perseus. Whilst Percy just looked amused. Green Arrow, Aqualad, Miss Martian and Kid Flash all looking worried and conflicted as they saw the ongoing confrontation escalate. Whilst Robin just looked like he was on the verge of losing his cool too. Even as Artemis looked like she was on the verge of laughing.

"Fine," Percy sighed, meeting Batman's stern glare with his own amused eyes for a moment, rolling his eyes as he did so. "Okay then, why are you here? I take it you didn't just come to start a fight?"

"No," Red Arrow bit out, his dislike of Percy obviously warring with his reason for being here, "I did come for a reason, a reason named Doctor Sterling Roquette."

"Nano-robotics expert at Clayton University in Star City," Robin spoke up quickly, messing around with a nearby console as he then drew up a hologram screen filled with the doctor's personal records, "Vanished two weeks ago."

"Abducted two weeks ago," Red Arrow corrected him, "By the League of Shadows."

"Whoa!" Robin exclaimed, his previous anger and embarrassment fading, as he instead sent his old friend a look of surprise, "You want us to rescue her from the Shadows?"

"Hardcore!" Wally nodded with a grin, fist bumping the Boy Wonder as he did so.

"I've already rescued her," Red Arrow said dismissively, though Percy could spy a slight smirk on his face at the adulation he was receiving from the other two, "Only one problem. The Shadows coerced her into creating a weapon. Doc calls it the fog." Red Arrow brought up his own wrist computer and showed them a picture of a capsule. "It's comprised of millions of microscopic robots. Nano-tech infiltrators, capable of disintegrating anything in their path. It can melt anything, but its true purpose isn't destruction, it is theft. The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system they come across and deliver its stolen Intel to the Shadow. They can get their hands on any information they want."

"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power brokering," Artemis nodded in agreement, "Sounds like the Shadows alright."

"Like you know anything about the Shadows," Wally scoffed. To which Artemis just smiled knowingly, which in turn just caused Wally to glare at her incredulously. "Like seriously, who are you?!"

"Roquette's working on a virus to disable the fog," Red Arrow continued ignoring the byplay as he instead focused on the task at hand.

Robin rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he digested this information, the technical side of which went completely over Percy's head, though he did understand just what these 'Shadows' could do with this Intel. "But if the Shadows know she can do that…"

"They'll target her," Red Arrow nodded, "Right now she's off the grid. I stashed her at the local high school."

"Really?" Percy asked in amusement, the tone of his voice evident, "You could have brought her here, to a high security League building filled with superheroes. Or taken her back to your 'base', or even one of Green Arrow's safehouses. But no, instead you drop her off at a high school, a very large, exposed and public building, one which likely only has a few CCTV cameras as security, and you call others rookies..."

"I don't need to explain myself to you, Riptide." Red Arrow replied coldly, his eyes narrowing behind his mask at the mockery, "She's safe enough for now."

"Then let's keep her that way," Green Arrow offered as he walked towards Red Arrow.

"Together?" Red Arrow asked scornfully, "Wouldn't you rather want to take your new protégé?"

Batman put a hand on Green Arrow's shoulder and they shared a look. A clear, yet silent message passing between the two as Green Arrow nodded and sighed deeply.

"You brought this mission to the team," Batman spoke up next, looking down on Red Arrow sternly as he did so, "Which means it's their mission now too."

"Whatever," Red Arrow shrugged as he walked to the Zeta Tubes, "My job's done."

With that said he approached the Zeta Tube, with the computer once again recognising him as Speedy. "That's Red Arrow by the way," he snapped at the machine, "B-Zero-Four. Update." With that done he then stepped into the machine and disappeared in a flash of light.

"What a cunt," Percy said bluntly, folding his arms and ignoring the reprimanding looks he received from several of those around him. "You guys really want that guy, that guy! On the team?"

Artemis snorted with laughter as she heard that, even as Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin scowled. Whilst Superboy and Miss Martian shared a bemused look.

"You wouldn't understand," Kaldur said with a sigh.

"I'm sure." Percy replied dryly, before he shook his head and looked to the team at large. "Alright enough talk, it looks like we have a new mission. Everyone get ready and meet at the Bioship! You've got five minutes!"

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what did you all think? This chapter was more of a character building and developing one, though it did have some important points that it introduced, which will become clear as the story continues. Plus it introduced the character I love to hate, Red Arrow. I mean damn, but that character is an arsehole. Still he does get better in later seasons, so that's one good thing.**

 **Other than that I hope you all continue to enjoy the story. I have given up on my Percy Jackson/ Attack on Titan idea, as honestly I watched the anime, and I don't like the way the story is going. Especially not this Marley thing. It annoys me. That being said I have been getting the urge recently to right a hetero Nico story, after all if other people can genderbend MCs and twist sexualities then so can I. Plus I've always wanted to explore the powers of a Child of Hades, plus put said child of Hades in some interesting scenarios, and have him have some interesting interactions. At present I am thinking a Nico in the Vampire Diaries verse crossover, just because that crossover sections is sparse and the world is diverse and full of potential. Though that being said, I don't think I will be starting anymore stories until I have cleared up my schedule somewhat. Hopefully be completing one or two of my stories.**

 **But yes, anyway. Thanks a lot for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter and continue to enjoy the story.**

 **Please do review.**

 **Thanks for reading, and if you do have the time, please do read some of my other stories. There is a wide and idiverse selection.**

 **Greed720.**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: So not got much to say about this chapter, not sure who actually reads these anyway to be honest. Either way here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it, ended up being much longer than I expected. But still I doubt too many will complain about that.**

 **Thanks for all the support so far, hope you keep enjoying the story and leaving reviews.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or DC.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _With that said he approached the Zeta Tube, with the computer once again recognising him as Speedy. "That's Red Arrow by the way," he snapped at the machine, "B-Zero-Four. Update." With that done he then stepped into the machine and disappeared in a flash of light._

 _"What a cunt," Percy said bluntly, folding his arms and ignoring the reprimanding looks he received from several of those around him. "You guys really want that guy, that guy! On the team?"_

 _Artemis snorted with laughter as she heard that, even as Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin scowled. Whilst Superboy and Miss Martian shared a bemused look._

 _"You wouldn't understand," Kaldur said with a sigh._

 _"_ _I'm sure." Percy replied dryly, before he shook his head and looked to the team at large. "Alright enough talk, it looks like we have a new mission. Everyone get ready and meet at the Bioship! You've got five minutes!"_

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 12**

 **( - )**

 **(Happy Harbour High School, later that evening)**

'Miss Martian can you mentally link us up, please. I don't want anyone intercepting our communications,' Percy spoke up, directing his thoughts towards his Martian teammate as he, and the rest of their team, plus the new girl, Artemis, and the doctor they were supposed to protect, Doctor Serling Roquette, gathered together in an empty classroom within the local high school.

Suffice to say Percy still wasn't happy about the open nature of the public school, though a part of that might be due to him still having lingering memories of being attacked by monsters at similar schools, on multiple occasions, back in his old world.

Still, it was too late in the day to change the doctor's positon now, especially since she had already started setting up the algorithm she needed to track the Fog.

Plus moving her in the dead of night when you were trying to protect her from an enemy called, the League of Shadows, didn't sound like a particularly smart move.

A ripple of amusement from Miss Martian was the only response Percy received to his internal griping, even as she acquiesced to his mental request. With Miss Martian concentrating for a moment, before, a few seconds later, she connected everyone else's minds. 'Done, everyone is now connected.'

'Ugh,' Artemis, the new girl, mentally groaned, rubbing her forehead as she did so. 'This is weird. Like seriously, how do you deal with having someone else inside your head? I mean, there are some things I'd like to keep private.'

'Like what?' Kid Flash replied snarkily, his lip curling upwards in amusement as he saw her obvious discomfort, 'Is there something that you're trying to hide?'

'Leave her Kid Flash, she is new to this. And, Artemis, relax.' Percy interrupted, his green eyes flicking over to Kid Flash to quell his next taunt before it occurred to him, after which he locked gazes with the newest member of the team. 'This kind of communication is perfect for missions, and Miss Martian doesn't probe our memories or anything like that. Instead she just connects our minds and relays the surface thoughts.'

'Good to know. The last thing I would want, is to know what exists in the dark recesses of the 'Wall-Man's' mind.' Artemis replied, her relief at this information coming through the mental connection as she did so, even as she used the opportunity to aim a dig at Kid Flash, whilst also redirecting the topic of the conversation a bit as she did so.

'Hey!' Wally replied irritably.

'Great, on top of having to work on a prehistoric computer now I have to deal with a load of teens in my head,' Doctor Roquette grumbled, her voice sounding out in all of the surrounding teen's heads as Miss Martian acted as a conduit, transmitting everyone's surface thoughts to the others, though in some cases, i.e. Wally, she had to filter some of what he was thinking.

Sending the blonde haired, blue eyed woman a dry look. Percy had to restrain himself from responding acerbically, after all he was aware enough to know that it was best not to antagonise the person they were trying to work with, and protect, or at least if you can help it.

Kid Flash however, seemed to be less aware of the situation, because, after taking a bite of his recently unwrapped chocolate bar he replied. 'Lady do you always complain to those that are trying to protect you?'

Ignoring this comment, Percy loosened his sword in his scabbard, even as he began to survey the floor plan of the school he had rolled out on the desk in front of him. His sharp eyes darting over the blueprint as he began to think of the best defensive strategy he could, based off the information he had available to him.

Including, about both the school, and what little Artemis, Robin, and Roquette had been able to tell him about the League of Shadows. Which honestly hadn't been much, other than that they relied on stealth, and were basically modern day ninjas, who excelled in assassination, infiltration, sabotage, espionage and the like.

Noticeably, as Percy did this, both Aqualad and Robin moved forwards so they could peer over Percy's shoulder at the plans. Both of them no doubt coming up with their own strategies, strategies that they would both likely voice the moment Percy announced his, if they didn't like what they heard.

Artemis however, sat off to one side on another desk, one which was next to Roquette. The blonde more interested in the conversation between Kid Flash and Roquette than in what the others were doing at the moment. 'Pot, Kettle, have you two met?'

'I don't want to hear any lip from the one that drove Red Arrow from the team,' Kid Flash shot back acidly, broadcasting his thoughts to the rest of the team as he looked away from the doctor, and instead to the blonde archer.

'That is so not my fault! If anything it is Red Arrow's for being a moron, and seriously is that really the name he chose to distinguish himself from Green Arrow?' Artemis scoffed irritably, her lip curving upwards and her satisfaction oozing through the mental connection as her sardonic comment provoked the desired response from the speedster.

Feeling her satisfaction Kid Flash visibly swelled up, his own irritation starting to leak through the connection now, in response to Artemis's own growing amusement.

Before he could reply though, Doctor Roquette visibly gritted her teeth, before gesturing at the computer. 'Fate of the world at stake! Is any of this ringing a bell with you neophytes?'

'Right, Roquette stop exaggerating, it's not helping, your technology is cool, but not that cool. Artemis stop baiting Kid Flash. Kid Flash stop allowing yourself to be baited. On top of that, all of you shut up, and let Roquette get back to work!' Percy final spoke up, M'gann helpfully magnifying his own voice in the rest of the team, and Roquette's, heads as he did so.

Everyone in the room, except M'gann, clutched their heads and stopped talking at that, all of them looking to Percy as he finally stood up fully and stopped looking at the map.

'Was that really necessary?' Aqualad asked, rubbing his temple, even as Kid Flash and Artemis looked away from one another, and Roquette glowered at Percy for a moment, before quickly getting back to work the moment his eyes, which for a single moment glowed a phosphorescent green, locked with her own.

'Yes.' Percy replied bluntly, before he gestured for the rest of them to gather round. "Now everyone gather up, I have a plan.'

In response to this, everyone moved forwards so they were now surrounding the table with the plan on it. Save of course for M'gann who remained floating in the air, her legs crossed and eyes closed as she focused on using her telepathy to not only keep the mental connection going, but to also sweep the school and surrounding area for any mental activity. An imperfect, but still useful way of keeping watch.

'Right to begin with, Artemis and Robin, you two are to sweep the halls of the school. Keeping moving, and make sure to watch out for anything that looks suspicious.' Percy began, looking to the two in question for a moment. 'Our foes will obviously be stealthy, and probably far more skilled in their craft than we will be. That said the two of you, either due to your training, or your natural abilities, are the most likely to spot if anything is amiss, and so would be the most useful to have patrolling the corridors.'

Artemis nodded at that, seeing the wisdom in what Percy was saying. With Robin nodding a moment later, though noticeably he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, only to be silenced when Percy raised a hand in his direction. Which in turn made him scowl, even if he grudgingly kept his opinion to himself for the moment.

'Miss Martian meanwhile will stay here with me. I will act as the last defence, Miss Martin meanwhile will keep the mental communication network active, and will routinely scan the surrounding area for unfamiliar mental activity.' Percy continued, wanting to outline his plan first before he took comments. 'As for Kid Flash, Aqualad and Superboy, the three of you will be heading out to locate the Fog, with the extent and range of your powers, and your technical knowhow, Kid Flash, and Roquette's virus to destroy the Fog, you will be best suited to deal with the weapon and those using it.'

'Good idea,' Aqualad agreed, interrupting as he looked to Roquette. 'Though, the virus won't be much help to us if we can't locate the weapon. Do you have a way to track it doctor?'

Seeing this Percy had to retain a sigh of irritation at being interrupted, especially since he was literally about to cover that very topic too.

'First thing first, it is not a _weapon_ it is science, brilliant science.' Roquette replied tartly, though she did noticeably smirk as she complimented her own work, before continuing on, her tone turning sarcastic now. 'And of course I can track it, but I would have to go online to do so, which would basically be like me putting up a sign above my head saying; ASSSASSINATE ME, in neon lights.'

Once again Percy restrained his sudden desire to roll his eyes at the woman's ego, she sure was proud with her own dangerous invention wasn't she?

'Enough,' Percy said, his gaze flickering from Aqualad to Roquette. 'Our whole purpose here is to protect you so you can track and then destroy the Fog. So long as we are here, you'll be safe. That said, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Superboy, once the doctor goes online you are too head out to track it down. Together you'll be Team B, and Kid Flash, you'll be the one in charge."

Roquette looked somewhat mollified at that, her feelings coming through the link as she looked up at the stern, resolute Percy. Taking comfort in his solid, seemingly immoveable presence as she did so.

The rest of the group however reacted with shock to his words. All of them looking at him in surprise. None more so than Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin.

"Wait, I'm in charge of Team B?" Kid Flash asked, so surprised that he spoke vocally this time.

'Yeah, him?!' Robin asked his eyes wide.

'I must admit, I too am slightly confused by this decision.' Aqualad added in his own thoughts, his befuddlement and slight annoyance bleeding into his words as he spoke. Clearly the Atlantean didn't appreciate having his positon as leader of Team B usurped.

'I'm trying out a new formation, and am giving Kid Flash some responsibility to see how he does.' Percy replied abruptly, his gaze moving over to the others until it came to rest on Kid Flash. 'Don't disappoint. Take the mission and the duty you've been given seriously.'

'R-right.' Kid Flash nodded, his eyes still slightly wide.

'Does this seem like a mistake to anyone else?' Artemis asked glibly.

'Artemis,' Percy replied, his gaze fixing on her for a second. The two of them locking eyes for a few moments, before she nodded and looked away. 'Right so everyone move out, you have your positons. Artemis and Robin start patrolling the halls. Roquette go online and start tracking the Fog. Kid Flash, you take Aqualad and Superboy and track down the Fog and then, using the doctor's virus, destroy it! Remember to remain in contact, Kid Flash you'll need to use the Bioship's communication system.'

'I've tracked the Fog down, it's heading towards Philadelphia.' Roquette suddenly spoke up, her hands flying across a keyboard as she put up a map of the city on the screen. 'I'd assume the target is Star Labs!'

'Right, good. I take it you all know what you've got to do!?' Percy asked, looking around at the assembled team.

Everyone nodded in response to that, or verbally agreed in one way or another, even if it was grudging in some cases, after which most of them then left the room. All save Robin, who stubbornly remained behind, and M'gann and Roquette who continued as they were.

'Problem, Robin?' Percy asked, even as M'gann once again closed her eyes and continued to scan the surrounding area with her telepathic powers, and Roquette continued to track the Fog, transmitting her findings to Kid Flash and his team as they headed for the Bioship. Which M'gann had already psychically reconfigured for them to operate whilst Percy was outlining the plan. Her own unfiltered access to his surface thoughts allowing her to predict his requests, without him even needing to ask.

'Yes,' Robin replied, a slight frown on his face as he looked around the room and saw the others were all busy, which meant that he had Percy's full attention. 'I have a few issues.'

'You have five minutes.' Percy replied without a moments paused, unsheathing his sword and resting it on a desk as he did so.

Robin scowled at that comment, but didn't verbally protest. "Why did you make Kid Flash the leader of Team B?"

"Because he has potential, he has a sharp mind, and when he isn't spewing bullshit, can use these traits to react and adapt in an instant. With a bit more toughening up, and a lot of maturing, he could be a good leader in the future." Percy replied verbally, leaning back against the desk as he surveyed Robin carefully. "Why, do you have an issue with me giving Kid Flash a chance?"

"No, it's just, why him? Why not me?" Robin replied, his tone faltering slightly now, and his brow furrowing in both confusion and anger.

"It's not personal," Percy replied after a few moments of contemplation, his eyes narrowing in thought for a moment, before he shrugged. "Honestly, I think you need to grow up a bit, and lose the attitude, more so than Kid Flash or any of the others. At the moment you are letting your ego get the best of you, and it is interfering with the team's cohesion. As soon as you start to work on these flaws, I will start thinking about giving you a go in a leadership position, to see how you do."

"You're calling me arrogant? You?" Robin asked, his tone filled with annoyance.

"Yes, me." Percy nodded, completely unperturbed by his tone. "Unlike you I don't brag, nor do I try to force my own superiority on people. Am I confident though? Yes, yes I am. I know exactly what I can do, and I know how dangerous it can be. Do I allow that confidence to go to my head though? No, no I do not."

Robin scowled as he heard that, but didn't reply.

"Look, Robin. I am giving you a chance here, put your ego to one side and start working with the team. Stop trying to take control, and instead learn from them, just as they learn from you. When you start doing that, then I will give you the same chance I have given Aqualad and Kid Flash." Percy continued, his tone softening slightly now as he looked down at the much younger kid. He was being harsh, he knew that. At the same time though, he also knew that if left unchecked, Robin's attitude could get himself, or more importantly, others, killed.

"Fine." Robin said after a few moments. "I think about it, and will try to do as you say."

"Good, that's all I ask." Percy nodded, watching the boy's face and posture closely as he did so. "Now head out and start patrolling. Let's call this a new start shall we, for both of us. We are teammates after all, and as such we should be working together, and not against one another!"

With that said Percy extended his hand, offering the younger boy a metaphorical olive branch.

"Ok, a new start." Robin said slowly, taking Percy's hand briefly, before he released it and then turned and left the room.

Watching as the door shut, Percy didn't even turn when he heard a voice speak up behind him.

"He still doesn't trust you, you know that don't you?" M'gann said suddenly, speaking out loud, even as she remained stationary, her eyes closed, and her legs crossed.

"Yes, I don't need telepathy to tell that much." Percy replied dryly, not even looking at M'gann as he continued to stare at the doorway Robin had just left through. "At the same time though I am giving him a chance. It's necessary, as if this team is to work, then we all need to work together."

'And yet you do not trust him, nor do you really trust the rest of the team.' M'gann thought back, excluding the others from the loop now as she instead spoke directly to Percy with her mind.

'I trust you M'gann, or at least more than most.' Percy replied, knowing as he did that she was drawing on his surface thoughts and emotions to infer this conclusion. This much he knew because M'gann was making it quite obvious what she was doing through their connection, just as she was relaying the very same information from the others back to him. 'And that's because you earned it, just as I hope I've earned your trust.'

'You have.' M'gann replied, her carefully. 'Though just as you have your secrets about your past and origins that you don't want to share, so too do I.'

'I am aware, and I can respect that.' Percy nodded, finally looking away from the doorway now. 'And when you are ready to tell me, if you ever want too that is, I will listen without judgement.'

'Thanks, and when you are ready to share, I will do the same.' M'gann replied easily, a slight smile spreading across her face, both of them finding some semblance of comfort in this understanding.

Percy nodded at that, but said no more on the issue, with their minds connected he didn't really need too. 'Continue to sweep the school for intruders, and relay Robin and Artemis's positons and experiences whilst you do so.'

'Will do, though from this distance and with this many people I can only relay their surface thoughts and emotions. Going any deeper and drawing on what they are seeing right now, will be much harder.' M'gann replied, with Percy nodding at that admission, after which she then cut off their private conversation and opened the communication loop up to the other three in the school. 'Wait I have someone, no, I can feel several presences on the outskirts of the school's grounds, but their minds are all partially shielded. I am struggling to lock in on them.'

'Shit already! Ok, well you heard Miss Martian, Robin, Artemis be on the lookout. Miss Martian try and isolate their positons.' Percy ordered, grabbing up his sword now, before he strode over to the desk, behind which Roquette continued to work feverishly. He hadn't expected that the assassins would have the forethought to try and block M'gann's telepathy, after all he didn't think they would know of her presence here, nor did he how one would go about doing it.

 **( - )**

 **(Outside of the school)**

Moving through the surrounding trees with ease, Cheshire, a high level operative in the League of Shadows, prowled closer to the building her target was being kept in. Her every move was silent as she crept through the undergrowth, her dark green outfit blending in perfectly with the surrounding foliage, with the only parts of her getup that stood out, being the pale, white, porcelain Cheshire Cat mask she was wearing, and the sliver chain she had looped around her neck.

Choosing her footing carefully, Cheshire kept her eyes only on the goal, trusting in her fellow operatives to do the same as they closed in on their target. With all three of them having been assigned the mission to kill Doctor Serling Roquette, who, according to their information network, was currently tracking the Fog from somewhere inside this local high school.

Cheshire had to hold back a scoff at that thought. Honestly, a high school? She couldn't think of a worse place to try to hide the doctor, already she had spotted well over a dozen ways to get inside. It was embarrassing for these 'heroes' really, as any fool could see that the school was a poor choice to defend the doctor.

Still she was not one to begrudge someone gift wrapping her target for her.

Originally she had come into this mission very cautious, especially after her master had relayed some of the information about the League's newest hero, Riptide. With her master having even brought in some allies to ensure the success of the mission due to this new hero's presence, and due to the presence of other heroes who could get in the way, like the Martian and the Superboy.

Now however she couldn't help but feel disappointed. She had gotten herself so worked up over the possibility of challenging such a foe, that this sudden anti-climax was a real buzzkill.

Creeping forward a bit more, and scaling the perimeter fence without a word, a slight smirk spread across Cheshire's lips as she spotted one of the heroes that had been assigned to defend Roquette. It was a female archer, one with long blonde hair, tanned skin, grey eyes and a green outfit. A female, teenaged Green Arrow, really?

Focusing closer on the archer, Cheshire's smirk widened behind her mask. Chuckling softly to herself, she shook her head for a moment, before throwing herself off the fence and onto the wall of the school. Her every move measured and purposeful as she quickly, and silently, climbed the wall and made it onto the roof. Her form blending in with the shadows as she then slipped through a rooftop vent and into the school itself.

At almost the exact same time, two other figures also leapt over the perimeter fence and infiltrated the school from the west and east.

One them was a tall, athletically built man who was wearing a skin-tight, purple full body suit, and a purple full face mask with golden eye pieces. To finish up his ensemble, the man also had a black spider emblem displayed across his chest, a silver chain looped around his neck, and a pair of dull, grey bracers on both wrists.

The other man meanwhile, was a tall, muscular Caucasian man, with light brown eyes and grey hair. The most noticeable thing about this man was the large, metallic hook he had for a right hand. On top of that his torso was also wrapped up in bandages, with him having a dark green jacket over the top of the bandages, and a silver chain around his neck.

These two, like Cheshire, were also League of Shadow's assassins, and like Cheshire they had been sent to the school for a reason. To kill Doctor Serling Roquette, and, if possible, to deal with some of the more pesky junior Justice League heroes, or at least hose that would not be useful to the League, or their allies.

 **( - )**

 **(With Artemis)**

'Robin, Artemis we have company. Pull back to the room we're keeping Roquette in, stay together and watch out for the shadows.' M'gann's voice rang out in the heads of Team A.

Hearing the Martian's voice, Artemis winced, pulling out and unfolding her compound bow as she did so, and nocking an arrow as she quickly retreated inside the school. Her grey eyes narrowed as she scanned the shadowy hallway.

This wasn't right, Roquette had literally only gone online ten or so minutes ago. It wasn't possible for the League to have not only found her already, but to have gotten operatives to the area as fast as they had too. Not to a place as small, obscure and out of the way as Happy Harbour.

Something about this situation was wrong. The Shadows couldn't possibly have found them already, or infiltrated the school yet, not unless they had already known the doctor's general location before she went online. Which in turn would bring into question where they got that information to start with?

Not that she didn't trust M'gann and her abilities though. No, from what she had seen so far the Martian was pretty powerful. On top of that she had been nothing but pleasant to Artemis so far, more so than the rest of the team.

Though, that being said Robin, Superboy and Aqualad had all been reasonable enough, though they had been a little standoffish too. Not in a callous or cruel way, but more unconsciously maintaining a certain distance. Personally Artemis suspected that that would change the more she got to know them.

Riptide too had been a little distant. Sure he had initially greeted her quite amiably, but since then he had taken on a somewhat sterner attitude, and not just to Artemis, but to the team in general.

With him, Artemis wasn't sure whether he had adopted this attitude whilst leading the team on a mission, as several of the members of the team did come across a bit unruly, or whether this was just his natural demeanour. Again only time would tell when it came to defining her relationship with the older teen.

But honestly, she'd only known them all for a couple of hours and was already on her fist mission with them. It was all moving very fast, and it definitely had her off-guard.

That being said she had only needed that long to get a good read on the last member of the team, Kid Flash. Which is to say she found him rude, abrasive and annoying, not her kind of person at all.

The fact that Riptide had given him a chance at a leading role, even after his attitude towards her before, did not quite sit right with her. Again, she didn't know Riptide or the team well, but already she could tell that Kid Flash didn't have the right temperament for a leader. He certainly didn't have the same presence, and natural authority that Riptide seemed to embody. Though again, she didn't know the older teen well enough yet to come to any proper conclusions on his leadership abilities, yet.

'Alright, pulling back,' Artemis replied to M'gann, pushing back her discomfort at this psychic communication thing, as she instead entered the school, her bow drawn, and her body low to the ground as she gilded through the hallways. 'I don't like this though, how are they already here?'

'You're not the only one concerned. They must have been in the area the moment she went online, which in turn means they must have already been aware of her general location.' Riptide's voice rang out in her head, voicing Artemis's own concerns now. 'I don't think it is due to a member of the team though, or a traitor on our side. Instead I suspect that the League tracked Red Arrow when he rescued her.'

'You think it was Roy's fault?' Robin's voice piped up now.

'I'm not saying he did it on purpose, I am merely coming to a logical conclusion based on the facts.' Riptide replied simply. 'For now though we don't have time to ponder, both of you pull back and be on guard. The enemy is moving far faster than I thought, as such we'll need to adapt the plan to deal with them. There are three of them at present, M'gann can't quite lock onto their minds though as something is interfering with her telepathy, so be careful.'

'Got it,' Artemis replied swiftly, her eyes narrowing as she continued down the hallway. Before a few moments later, she suddenly twisted and released her arrow, the shaft hurtling through the air and into a nearby shadowy hallway, only for it to be batted away with a spark of metal on metal.

'Wait, I've found one of the intruders, I'm moving to engage.' Artemis reported in, her grey eyes narrowing as she saw a large, heavily built man with a hook for a hand disentangle himself from out of the shadows. Another arrow, this one with an explosive attached to the tip, already nocked and ready to be launched.

'Be careful, if it looks like you're in trouble retreat.' Percy replied a few moments later.

Artemis grit her teeth at that, before smiling. He trusted her to deal with the situation on her own, that was good at least.

With that in mind she unleashed the arrow, and then rolled to the side, dodging the man's hook as it suddenly hurtled through the space she had just filled, the chain rattling behind it, extending from the man's right stump as it did so.

Hitting the floor, Artemis rolled to her feet in moment. With her not even blinking as the man leapt out of the way of her arrow, letting it explode a few feet away, even as he brought his free arm up to protect himself from flying shrapnel that erupted forth from the explosion

Seeing this, and taking advantage of it. Artemis once again nocked an arrow and released it. With this arrow once again exploding, only this time it was smaller, and in mid-air, as this ended up releasing a tangle of metal wire to entangle the man, even as she darted forwards to engage the now snarling assassin in combat. Her every movement measured and perfect, and her muscles tensing as she rushed forward to take him down as quickly, and as efficiently, as possible.

 **( - )**

 **(With Robin)**

Dashing down the school's dimly lit corridors, his staff extended and in his hand, Robin continued to fight with his masked assailant. Both of them flipping acrobatically through the air, leaping off of walls and lockers, as they clashed back and forth.

Already Robin's breathing had become heavier, and his brow was caked in sweat. This foe he faced, the assassin, Black Spider, he was beyond anyone that he had faced before, or at least by himself.

Most of the time the villains he fought were untrained, they were either common thugs, or powered individuals, or used gadgets. Either way none of them had the training and skill Robin had, which in turn allowed him to turn the tables on them when they fought, especially once he started using his own gadgets and quick witted ingenuity.

Black Spider though was different. He was a martial artist with a frightening level of skill and experience. On top of that he was also a full grown man, one at the peak of his physical fitness, and thus had all the strength, and stamina that that entailed.

Now Robin was no slouch, he trained every day for several hours and did fitness exercise both when he woke up and before he went to bed. But despite that he was only thirteen, and as such could only build up so much muscle. On top of which he only had four years of experience and training, whilst Black Spider probably had a couple of decade's worth.

Either way he was in trouble, and had been ever since the assassin had leapt out of the shadows just minutes ago, stopping Robin before he could go and assist the new girl, Artemis, with her foe.

"So I'm curious, are you getting tired yet?" Robin asked the silent assassin as he barrelled into a nearby classroom, rolling over one of the desks, before he twisted around and kicked it, sending the desk up into the air, and towards the oncoming killer. He needed to distract the killer, or at least long enough for him escape.

Black Spider however didn't reply, instead he just rolled under the flying desk, and then leapt up, his foot pushing soundlessly off of another desk as he shot towards Robin.

Seeing this Robin spun round, his clock whipping behind him as a distraction, even as he palmed three bird-a-rangs, all of which he hurled at Black Spider. Only for the masked killer, to avoid all three as he twisted in mid-air with almost supernatural ease. After which he once again engaged Robin, his fists, palms and knife hand strikes shooting out with startling speed, forcing Robin to retreat. His staff whirling round in his hands as he tried to fend the larger man off, with only partial success.

"I'll take that as a no." Robin grunted as he backed off, his arms aching from defending against Black Spider, and his ribs throbbing with pain after the larger man had managed to get a kick through his defences. He suspected at least two of his ribs were cracked.

In response Black Spider lunged forward again, his every movement controlled as he weaved in between Robin's strikes, before he caught the staff in a tight grasp, and then yanked it forward.

"Gah!" Robin cursed as he felt himself pulled forwards, only for him to twist and let go of his staff as Black Spider lunged forward, his elbow moving like a club as the Boy Wonder only just avoided it. Only for Black Spider to twist around, the staff spinning in his hand as he brought it to bare on Robin.

"Damn it!" Robin spat as he narrowly avoided a strike from his own staff, the tip of which left a red scrape along the side of his face, even as he rolled over another desk. His hand already going for his utility belt as he then threw three smoke pelts down.

Almost at once the room was filled with swirling grey smoke, just the cover Robin needed, as he used the smokescreen to his advantage, as he silently flipped over the desk and then slid out of the classroom. Making it to his feet in the same move, after which he then sprinted off down the corridor. Black Spider was too tough an opponent for him at the moment, if he were older, and had more experience then maybe, but right here and now, he was at least big enough to admit when he was outmatched.

'One of the assassins is Black Spider, he's a master martial artist. I tried to take him on, but he overwhelmed me.' Robin thought to the others as he darted down another corridor, sticking to the shadows now, as he continued on through the school. Once again heading in Artemis's location, hoping as he did so, that he would be able to lure Black Spider away form Roquette.

'Fall back for now, don't commit to a losing battle.' Riptide replied quickly, 'Artemis what is your situation?'

'Not sure who the guy I'm fighting is, but I'm winning. I've got him on the run, heading down the humanities corridor.' Artemis replied quickly.

'Robin can you intercept. Your best bet now would be to assist Artemis in taking out her assassin, then both of you ganging up on Black Spider.' Riptide cut in.

'On it, I will move to intercept. What about the last one?' Robin replied.

'I've managed to get a lock on her, just like the other two now. The third assassin is heading towards where we're keeping Roquette. I've got the one your chasing too Artemis, and your assassin Robin, he's following your trail.' M'gann's voice suddenly sounded out, her frustration evident to the others. 'I can't tell you much more than that though, something about the three of them is blocking my telepathy.'

'It's fine Miss Martian, just do the best you can. Robin move to intercept Artemis's assassin, both of you then deal with Black Spider. I will deal with the third before she can get to Roquette.' Riptide said decisively.

'Right.' Robin nodded, trusting in Riptide for now as he changed his path and started sprinting for the humanities corridor, thanking Batman's training all the while, as the Dark Knight had always insisted he memorised the layout of any building he planned to operate in.

 **( - )**

 **(With Percy)**

'"Miss Martian, keep the doctor safe. Use your telepathy to create a shield around her if you can." Percy ordered as he took his positon in the centre of the room, his back to Roquette as he instead faced the door. His sea green eyes closed as he began to spread his senses through the moisture in the air, a task which was much more difficult to achieve indoors, than it was outdoors when one was more likely to be closer to nature, and sources of water.

"Are you sure?" M'gann asked, a look of concern flashing across her face as Percy took a fighting stance.

Percy didn't reply to that, instead he just narrowed his eyes and waited. Already he could feel the final assassin approaching the room, she was in the roof up above, artfully using the metal struts which held up the roof tiles to skilfully make her way into the room.

"You might as well come out, I know you're there!" Percy called out, his eyes flicking up to ceiling now, pausing for all of a moment, before he swung his sword through the air, gathering moisture along the edge as he did so, before he released a crescent shaped blade of water. One which slashed straight through the roof tiles up above.

With a loud crashing sound, and the shattering of plasterboard, the final assassin fell through the roof, along with a shower of debris. The lithe newcomer announcing her arrival with a shower of shuriken as she twisted in mid-air, her mane of thick, shaggy black hair flicking through the air as she landed on the ground in a crouch, her right hand already extended, a black bladed sword unfolding in the same motion, and already at the ready.

Slashing his Drakon bone blade through the air, Percy nonchalantly deflected several of the shuriken even as he darted forwards, rapidly closing in on the assassin. Both of them clashing as black steel blade, met bone, the two of them battling ferociously, their blades little more than blurs to the casual observer.

With Percy's eyes glowing dangerously in the gloom of the room as he slowly but surely advanced, his blade a blur as he swung it around to block the female assassins every thrust, riposte and slash, his every movement measured and efficient as he continuously advanced, pushing the lithe woman back with every step.

As for the assassin, she was completely on the defensive, her own, quite clear, prodigious skill with a sword pushed to the limits as she found herself being overwhelmed in both strength, speed and talent. With her only being able to keep up due to her own hard trained reflexes and flexibility.

"Wow you are good." The assassin cooed, dancing back now and breaking off combat as she back stepped, eyeing Percy carefully for a moment. Before, her eyes flicked down to her blade, only for them to marginally widen behind her mask as she saw the numerous notches on the previously flawless blade's edges. "Hmm, it's Riptide, isn't it?"

"Yes, though I don't believe I've had the pleasure...?" Percy replied amiably, swinging his sword through the air before he once again set himself in a ready stance, his body angled as his right leg was slightly forward, and his left leg back and at an angle. The tip of his blade raised, and aimed at the assassin's cat like mask.

"The name's Cheshire, and I've heard about you Riptide. You should be proud, you've only been around for a few months and you've already made some big waves in the criminal underworld." The now named Cheshire replied softly, her voice easy-going and sensual as she straightened up, and began to move, her hips sashaying almost hypnotically as she did so.

"Oh really." Percy replied dryly, his green eyes fixed on the assassin, even as M'gann relayed Artemis and Robin's thought to him, the both of them having met up now. With Artemis's assassin having been put out of commission already. Which meant that they now had to deal with the remaining one, Black Spider. Which in turn meant having to chase him off through the school's dark, empty corridors.

"Oh yes," Cheshire practically purred, before suddenly, and without a warning, she darted forward.

Percy though reacted in an instant, his blade raising as he slapped aside her thrust, and then smashed his clenched fist into her abdomen. Only for his punch to miss as she twisted away at the last second, falling to the floor, as she caught herself on her hands, and swept her leg around for a sweeping kick to the back of his knees.

Jumping back at this, Percy unclenched his free hand, drawing on the blood in the human assassin's body, even as he parried her next two blows. His second parry shattering her blade, only for her to react without a thought as she leapt up and landed a double kick in his gut, staggering him, even as she pushed off of him and threw herself back. A pair of long, silver Sais appearing in her hands as she then back flipped and landed back on the floor a few metres away, once again in a cat like, crouched positon.

Narrowing his eyes, and catching his breath, his blade still up and at the ready. A frown soon spread across Percy's face as, after a couple of seconds of intense concentration, he realised he couldn't control her blood.

"What's the matter handsome, struggling to perform?" Cheshire asked silkily, pushing herself on to her feet once more and back stepping as she watched Percy's expression carefully.

"You're naturally blocking my ability to control your blood somehow…" Percy muttered, his eyes narrowing as he watched the assassin carefully. Maybe she wasn't as human as he first thought, after all he had had a similar struggle with Superboy, and with the chemically altered Desmond.

"Well I wouldn't say naturally." Cheshire purred, spinning her Sais in her hand now. "Though I have to say when our spy told us about your abilities, it caused quite a stir. I mean, controlling water is one thing, but controlling blood too. Well that is something else entirely!"

Percy tensed up as he heard that, his eyes narrowing.

She was trying to put him off-guard and distract him, he knew that much. She was flaunting this existence of a spy, and her apparent knowledge about what he could do, in order to throw him off so that he would leave an opening she could then exploit.

It wouldn't work.

'Miss Martian?' Percy thought, even as he watch Cheshire start to prowl forwards.

'On it, the proximity makes it easier to find her mind and break into it, though she is still somehow shielding herself from my telepathy.' M'gann replied before suddenly she winced and relayed a single image to him, and a name. All she could tease out as Cheshire's mental protections, held up, despite M'gann battering on them with all her psychic might.

"Klarion?" Percy said softly, his eyes narrowing as he watched Cheshire's posture stiffen.

"Oh my," Cheshire whispered somewhat thrown by Percy's statement, her head shifting as she looked over in M'gann's direction for a moment, her gloved hand unconsciously moving to her silver necklace for a moment. "Obviously he underestimated the Martian."

Percy's gaze locked onto the silver necklace for a moment, before he raised his hand.

Seeing this Cheshire reacted in an instant, her Sais spinning her hands as she suddenly darted forwards.

She was too slow though, as moments later the sprinklers overheard exploded and water suddenly rained down on the entire classroom. The water noticeably hitting M'gann's dome like shield of telekinetic energy and running down it, avoiding Roquette and her computer entirely.

"Shit." Cheshire cursed quietly, breaking off her charge as she instead flung herself to the side, and just in time too as two crescent like blades of water smashed into the space she had just been, tearing through the floor and furniture with ease.

Twirling his sword through the air, Percy used it to form and release two more blades of water. Even as he used his free hand to manipulate more of the falling water, creating half a dozen shimmering spears of water, which moments later froze, and became spears of incredibly condensed ice. Spears which he then sent hurtling towards Cheshire.

Dancing back, Cheshire leapt off a nearby table, twisting in mid-air as she avoided two of the spears.

After which, the moment her foot landed on the ground, she shifted her body again, only this time she used her Sais to block two more. Though unfortunately the momentum of the spears, caused one of her Sais to fly out of her hand as she deflected it.

The final two spears however managed to clip her, one of them striking her in the shoulder as she moved to dodge, flinging herself towards where her other Sai was. The glancing strike drawing blood as it cut through her top, and into the flesh and muscle beneath. The final spear meanwhile hit her in the side, scrapping along her side, once again drawing blood but nothing more as she just about dodged it.

Landing on the floor in a sprawl, Cheshire didn't have long to recover from her wounds, as Percy was on her in moments. His movements far faster than before thanks to the still falling water, as he lunged forward, the water around him lashing out, aiding him as it harried his opponent like some sentient beast.

"So this Klarion's protections are limited." Percy chuckled, keeping calm as he battled Cheshire back, boxing her into a corner, manipulating the falling water around him as he did so.

This was his first time facing someone wielding Sais, and he had to say it was a pain. The blades were like two stiletto daggers, only with curved guards which could be used to trap other weapons. They were interesting, but not too fun to fight against, especially since their lightweight design, and yet long and thin blades made them ideal for rapid slashes and strikes.

"Spoilers." Cheshire hissed back, her voice lacking the previous lilting, mocking tone from before, as she instead sounded as harried as she looked.

"It's a good thing I like spoilers then isn't it!" Percy replied, sweeping his sword around as he completely avoided, as opposed to deflected, a twin set of slashes, and instead smashed the spiked hilt of his sword into her gut. A spray of blood erupting from her mouth and dribbling down from under her mask, even as the bone spikes on the hilt gouged into her firm, muscled abdomen.

Falling back, Cheshire used the momentum to do a backwards roll, which ended with her back on her feet a metre or so away from Percy now, her body slightly hunched over, and her breathing harsh, blood and spittle still dripping out from under her mask.

Moving forwards, his feet splashing through the puddles that were now forming on the ground as the water continued to rain down all around him, Percy's eyes practically glowed as he advanced on his quarry. His every movement making his opponent back step, right up until her back hit the wall.

This Cheshire, she was skilled, Percy was sure of that. But she was also specialised, she was an assassin, and thus was used to quick, rapid fire, fast paced flurries of combat, not prolonged fights. On top of that, she was also probably used to having the element of surprise when she took out her target, or their guards. She was also probably used to her quarry not fighting back, and certainly not being as skill as her too.

Which meant that all in all, she wasn't a warrior, nor was she a soldier. She was skilled yes, but she relied more on stealth, guile and agility than raw talent, instinct and fighting prowess. On top of that she was only human, a mortal, with seemingly no extraordinary powers. Which meant that when she was up against a Demigod, an engine of warfare and death, she was severely lacking, even with the mystical protection she had somehow acquired.

"You won't take me alive, hero, I can promise you that! So what will you do, will you break your code and cause my death, just to take me down?" Cheshire sneered, her previous amusement completely absent. Her tone instead holding only anger, and a slight bit of fear as she gripped her Sais tightly and sank into a slightly shaky fighting stance.

"And what would you know of my code?" Percy replied in amusement, his sword raising into the air as he took another step forward, several more spears of ice forming in the air around him.

Cheshire stiffened as she heard Percy's tone of voice, and saw his glowing, phosphorescent green eyes locking unerringly on her.

'Riptide.' M'gann's concerned voice rang out in his mind. 'Just because you can finish her, doesn't mean you should. It would be better for her to be interrogated, and then stand trial for her crimes. That way her victims, and those affected by her crimes can gets the peace and closure they deserve.

'Don't worry Miss Martian, I have no intention of killing her. Not right now, not until I find out just who her spy is, if there even is one.' Percy replied easily, not too concerned with her recriminatory tone. His own code was quite grey and morally ambiguous, but he wasn't a cold blooded killer.

Cheshire's masked face shifted back and forth between the still floating Martian, safe behind her telekinetic shield, which even now was visible as water continued to fall on it before noticeably sliding off of it and pooling on the floor, and Percy.

A moment later Cheshire then darted forward, sliding to the side as she attempted to get past Percy, and run for a nearby window.

"Oh no you don't!" Percy snapped, the water around her shooting up, as tendrils began forming, snaking around her limbs as they did so.

At almost the exact same time the door to the classroom exploded open. Black Spider, Artemis and Robin all entering. With Black Spider in the lead as he leapt into the room, rolled over a nearby desk and then lunged for Roquette. A slightly battered looking Artemis running into the room after him, her bow drawn as she aimed for his back. A more roughed up looking Robin coming in after her, seemingly unarmed, but clearly pissed off.

"Shit." Percy cursed, releasing his sword and allowing it to land on the ground with a splash, even as he thrust his right hand in Black Spider's direction, sending the ice spears around him at the martial arts specialist, even as he closed in on M'gann's telekinetic shield. His other hand meanwhile, moving out towards Cheshire as he split his attention, still controlling the tendrils as he tried to incapacitate her if possible, and kill her if necessary.

From there, time seemed to slow, as the ice spears exploded across the room with frightening speed. All three of them striking the surprised Black Spider in mid-air, the force of the spears knocking him out of the air, even as they ripped through his body. Blood spraying out of his chest as he hit the floor with a loud, wet thump.

"Robin check on him," Percy ordered without missing a beat, already looking away now as he instead turned to Cheshire, his left hand clenching into a fist. It would seem, that it might be necessary to break some of her limbs in order to stop her from running.

In response to this order Robin just nodded and headed over to the now badly wounded Black Spider.

Artemis however twisted around and fired an arrow at Cheshire. Only instead of helping to capture the woman, the arrow instead exploded in mid-air, the concussive shockwaves from the explosion tearing apart Percy's tendrils of water, even as it sent Cheshire crashing to the floor.

"Shit, sorry!" Artemis shouted, nocking another arrow, even as Cheshire leapt towards the window and crashed through it. Artemis's arrow missing by inches as it hit the window frame, cracking the wood as it sank an inch or so into it.

Percy narrowed his eyes at this exchange, through the feedback loop M'gann had set up, between himself and the rest of the team, he could feel Artemis's whirling emotions. As such he could sense both her guilt over what she had just done, and strangely, her relief too. From that Percy was able to infer, her accident, wasn't so much an accident, as it was a purposeful ploy and deception.

"Robin, leave Black Spider, I will try and clot his wounds myself in a moment. Instead get after Cheshire, you're probably the fastest and most agile one here, and with her injuries you should be able to catch her." Percy ordered his brow furrowing as he swept past Artemis and over to the smashed window.

"It's too late." Robin said bitterly, standing up from Black Spider's now still corpse. "He's dead."

Percy spared the younger boy a glance as he heard that, feeling the swirling emotions of shock, anger, relief and confusion within the boy as he did so.

"Not exactly my intention, but unfortunately he caught me off-guard. Still there is no sense crying over the death of an assassin, even if it was an accidental one. For now keep your mind on the mission, we can deal with the fallout later." Percy said loudly, looking to Robin now, even as he pulled Artemis's arrow out of the window frame.

"R-right." Robin nodded, looking down at his shaking bloodstained hands for a moment, before he clenched them into fists and gave Percy a resolute nod.

"Good," Percy smiled tightly, even as he raised his left hand and created a bow out of water, his eyes narrowing as he solidified the water and then used Artemis's arrow as he drew the bow. Sighting down the arrow, his senses flaring as he focused in on Cheshire's bloody wounds, her protections might shield her from his blood manipulation, but it didn't change the fact that she, like most mortals, animal and human alike, were just fleshy sacks of water.

With that in mind he released the arrow, his watery bow having a lot more force to it than even Artemis's compound bow as he tailor made the bow to his enhanced strength, in order to maximise its power. A handy trick the Titaness of the Moon, Selene, had taught him down in Tartarus.

A moment later the arrow exploded forth from the bow, the solid arrow cleaving through the air with more ease than ever, as the slight film of water on it streamlined it, and cut down on air resistance.

 **( - )**

 **(With Cheshire, a few moments earlier)**

About three hundred feet away the fleeing, yet still injured, Cheshire, continued through the woods steadily, her breathing calming down the more distance she put between herself and her implacable foe, Riptide.

This entire operation had been a disaster. Not only had her two associates proven themselves completely useless, but they had underestimated the junior Justice League too. Klarion the Witch Boys, magic necklaces might have shielded their minds and bodies from the Martian and Riptide's powers, but they had not taken into account the breadth of the newcomer's abilities, nor his skill.

Yes, they had underestimated the situation. Or rather her masters had, she, in her own opinion, had performed admirably considering the situation. She had even managed to get away too, unlike the other two.

Though, Cheshire, had to admit she had been aided in this achievement by the green archer, as much as she hated to acknowledge this fact.

Still all that mattered was she was free and clear, now she could report to the League of Shadows about the mission's failure.

A grimace passed across her face at that thought. Reporting back her failure, was not an experience that she was going to enjoy.

It was as she was thinking this, that her honed senses picked up on something approaching.

Acting on instinct Cheshire threw herself to the ground, holding back a cry of pain as the wounds to her shoulder and side throbbed. And it was fortunate that she did so, as literally the same moment she moved a green arrow shot passed, nicking the side of her face a bit did so, gouging a cut into her mask, even as it knocked it off her face.

Revealing as it did so, her dark, obsidian coloured eyes, tanned, olive coloured skin, and thick, lustrous black hair, all of which complemented her regal, and hauntingly beautiful facial features. Though at the moment she was not looking particularly beautiful, as her face was currently caked in sweat, and she had rapidly drying blood trailing down from her lips.

Rolling to her feet, Cheshire unconsciously brought a hand to her face, marvelling at how close she had just been to being killed, and by the green archer too! As that thought hit her, a sudden emptiness filled her stomach, the hollowness gnawing at her heart for a moment, before she was distracted by the barely audible sound of rapidly approaching footsteps.

She was being pursued, and they were looking to finish her off, just like they had Black Spider. It was as that realisation hit her, that she regained her senses, pushing down her anger and hurt for the moment, as she instead turned and scrambled away. Sprinting off through the forest, one hand clutching her bloody side as she fled the area as fast as she could.

 **( - )**

 **(Back at the school, a few moments earlier)**

"Now get after her, she has some information that could be useful!" Percy ordered as he dispersed his bow, looking to Robin now, who in response gave Percy a tight nod, before he leapt out of the broken window and chased after Cheshire. The Boy Wonder's own injuries slowing him down, but not by much as he vanished from sight.

Nodding as he saw this, Percy then turned away from the window, shutting the water off by freezing it in the pipes with just a thought. Ignoring as he did so, how both Roquette and M'gann were watching him, as he instead locked gazes with Artemis.

"So Artemis, do you want to tell me what that was back there?" He asked, walking past the still green archer now as he scooped up his sword and sheathed it.

"It was an accident, I reacted on instinct! I didn't mean to get in the way!" Artemis replied quickly, her tone seemingly earnest as she twisted around to watch Percy.

"Well that's a lie right there." Percy replied bluntly, making eye contact with Artemis as he did so, and not missing her slight flinch.

"What! What are you say?! What are you accusing me of?!" Artemis snapped angrily, looking between both Percy and M'gann now as she did so.

"Did you know, that when a person lies their heartbeat tends to get faster?" Percy replied, his response catching her somewhat off guard, even as he leant back against a desk and watched her carefully. "And considering I can feel the blood flowing through your body, do you really think I can't tell when a person is being dishonest?"

"We've just been in a fight, of course my heart is racing!" Artemis snapped, a scowl on her face now, even as she clenched her bow tighter. "You know, I expected this from Kid Flash, and maybe even Robin and Aqualad, they feel I'm an intruder and don't trust me yet, but I didn't expect it from you, the team leader!"

Percy smiled in response to that, the girl had fire that much was obvious. "True, that could also be the reason behind why your heart is beating so fast. But it doesn't explain your emotions, such as how you felt both relief and guilt when you engineered Cheshire's escape."

Artemis flinched as if struck as she heard that. "So what you're an empath now?"

"No, I have no psychic abilities what so ever. But our minds are connected, the entire teams, and Miss Martian is not just acting as a conduit to relay everyone's thoughts, she is also relaying their surface emotions to me too. At my specific request of course." Percy replied with a shrug, after all it was something he had specifically asked the Martian girl to do.

Artemis's face paled a little at that, though Percy could also see her swelling up in indignation too, her grey eyes flicking from him to the floating Martian.

"Oh don't blame Miss Martian, I was the one that requested this off her." Percy continued speaking, cutting Artemis off before she could blow up and start hurling accusations around. "And it wasn't so I could spy on you all either. I did it for a tactical reason. People often lie, or understate things if asked directly, and since I need to know the condition of the entire team in order to effectively manage them, I needed to think of a way around this. As such I've been using their emotions in this mission, as a test run of sorts, to analyse how you all handle the fights, and whether you need assistance, and your current states of mind, and I have to say it is effective thus far."

"Why didn't you tell anyone about that part? You just said M'gann was relaying surface thoughts." Artemis asked, her eyes fixed on Percy to the exclusion of all else.

"And that's exactly what she's been doing, only she's passing along your surface feelings as well. As for why I didn't tell you. Well it was a test run, I didn't want to mess it up by having you all try to control or hide your emotions. Beside we're a getting a bit off topic here, don't you think?" Percy replied, not at all perturbed about how what he had done might be considered an invasion of privacy, after all a person emotions were also clear to see on their faces, and in their eyes, as well as their minds. They were always on the surface with most people, and as such were probably far less private than a person's inner thoughts.

Artemis frowned at the change in topic, but still nodded none the less. Her emotions once again switching from angry to guilty as she met Percy's piercing green eyes.

"I take it you did what you did before on purpose?" Percy asked quietly, keeping his voice low so neither Roquette nor M'gann could hear exactly what they were saying.

Artemis nodded at that, her guilt intensifying.

"Did you do it to hurt the team?" Percy continued, his tone steady and controlled.

Artemis shook her head in the negative.

"Did you do it because you knew Cheshire on a personal level then?" Percy queried next.

Artemis hesitated at this point, before slowly nodding.

"Ok, so to finish are you a threat to the team, or to innocent people?" Percy asked once more, his gaze boring into Artemis.

"No, I don't want to hurt anyone, it's just…, I…, well…" Artemis trailed off, struggling to put into words what she wanted to say.

"Ok then, we'll say no more on this issue for the moment then. So long as you don't mean the team harm, and your secrets don't endanger anyone, feel free to keep them to yourself." Percy said, his gaze softening slightly now. He could respect loyalty, even if it got in the way sometimes.

"What? That's it?" Artemis asked in shock.

"You're entitled to your secrets Artemis, we all are. If you want to share them then great, I will listen without judgement, but if you want to hold off on sharing, or keep them to yourself, then that's fine too." Percy said, reiterating what he had previously made clear to M'gann before. As team leader he would happily listen to people's problem and help them however he could. But as a person, one who very much liked his own privacy, he would not force them to tell him their secrets.

"Thanks." Artemis said in relief, nodding now, and visibly calming down as she let out a deep breath.

"That said if you ever purposefully fuck up like you just did, again! Then the next time, we'll be having much harsher words! I can respect personal loyalty to a friend, but great harm can come from putting that loyalty ahead of the mission and the good of the many!" Percy continued, his tone turning harder now, and a dark gleam appearing in his eyes for a moment, as he thought on memories from long ago, and of a very similar warning the Goddess Athena had once given him. "Are we clear?"

Artemis stood straighter as she heard that, meeting Percy's gaze resolutely for a moment, before nodding. "I understand, and I promise, I will earn the trust you've put in me!"

"That's all I ask." Percy nodded, patting her lightly on the shoulder as he did so, before he turned away, even as Robin chose that moment to leap back through the broken window, a Cheshire cat mask in hand.

"She got away." Robin said dourly, meeting Percy's gaze as he did so. "Sorry, I wasn't fast enough."

"It's no matter, what's important is that we've fulfilled the mission." Percy replied with a slight smile. "Besides you and Artemis captured the other assassin didn't you?"

Robin nodded at that, perking up slightly when Percy didn't get angry with him, like he probably suspected he would.

"Good, then you and Artemis go secure the other assassin and bring him back here." Percy nodded, looking between the two now as they both nodded, before turning and heading out of the room.

'Roquette and news on Team B?' Percy then asked, mentally this time, as his voice rang out in all four of their heads.

'They reported in a few minutes ago, they have stopped the Fog in Philadelphia. They're heading back now. I would have told you earlier, but you looked… busy.' M'gann replied, from where she was sitting beside Roquette.

'That's brilliant!' Robin's voice answered back.

'Does this mean I'm safe now?' Roquette asked the group at large.

'Probably, the Shadows don't have a reason to kill you anymore. Still we'll let Batman decide what should be done.' Artemis replied, her own exultation in her first, successful mission coming through in her internal voice.

'Did the League of Shadows succeed in stealing anything from Star Labs before they were stopped?' Percy asked, looking to Roquette and M'gann now, both of whom were within hearing distance of the communicator.

'Unfortunately yes, they managed to access the mainframe and steal a lot of information from the servers before Team B stopped them. They didn't get everything, but they got enough.' M'gann replied, her tone a bit more sombre this time.

'It's fine, the important thing is we've stopped them. We can deal with the fallout from this later.' Percy replied, nodding his head as he did so. 'For now call Team B back to the base. 'And Robin, can you contact Batman, we'll need a pick up for the assassin we've caught, and a body bag for Black Spider.'

Percy could feel Robin's discomfort as he heard that, but even so the kid replied in the affirmative. 'I'll get on it. I'll tell him everything that happened, and how you didn't mean to kill him.'

'Don't worry about it, I'll deal with Batman personally. For now we'll head back to base, deposit the doctor and the assassins with the league, and we can debrief once there.'

'Right.' Robin nodded.

'Kid Flash is on route.' M'gann tagged on.

'You know this Hook guy is pretty heavy!' Artemis added in her own comment.

'Also well done to everyone, this was a difficult mission but we pulled it off!' Percy finished, a slight smile spreading across his lips now as he saw Miss Martian open her eyes and remove the telekinetic dome that covered herself and the doctor. A smile spreading across her face as she did so, her enthusiasm for yet another successful mission clear to see.

 **( - )**

 **(Back at** **Mount Justice, sometime later)**

"Oh yeah, we took down the League of Shadows," Wally laughed, bumping fists with Robin as he did so, even as he clapped both Superboy and Kaldur on the shoulder. "We totally crushed it!"

"Hell yeah!" Robin grinned, clasping hands with both Kaldur and Superboy too, even as he showed the speedster Cheshire's mask. "Oh, and I picked up a souvenir for you too!"

"Sweet!" Wally grinned taking the mask and checking it out as he did so, his finger absentmindedly tracing the gouge in the cheek. "And how was the new girl?"

"She did well!" Robin nodded, a slight smile on his face as he looked over to where Artemis was standing with M'gann, both of them chatting animatedly about something. The two of them looking far closer than they had been at the start of the mission. "What about you? How was leading Team B?"

"He did well." Kaldur spoke up now. "He focused on the mission, and because of this, the three of us we managed to quickly, and efficiently, neutralise the Fog and capture the one operating it."

"Aww thanks man, but like you say, it was totally a team effort!" Wally grinned, his cheeks reddening as he scratched the back of his head.

"What about you? Did you and Percy work well together?" Superboy spoke up, a slight frown on his face as he, like the rest of the team, knew that there was a bit of tension between the oldest and youngest member of the team.

"Well yeah, I would say we worked together well." Robin said after a few moments, a slight smile on his face. "We had a chat and we've come to an understanding of sorts."

Kaldur, Wally and Superboy looked at one another in surprise at that, before smiling.

"Sweet, it's about time you two started getting on!" Wally grinned, slapping Robin on the arm as he did so.

"Yes, for the team to work we all need to be able to get on, and work together." Kaldur nodded, a smile on his face as the last area of contention in the team had been now smooth over.

"Well I wouldn't say we're friends or anything, but I will at least admit he was the best choice for leader." Robin nodded, folding his arms as he thought about their mysterious team leader. Still a bit uncertain as to what to think of him yet. He was still intensely curious about his abilities and origins, and still didn't like how ruthless he could be. But he could at least acknowledge that the older teen had both skill, power and good leadership instincts, he was the right choice for the leader.

Or for the moment at least.

Once Robin had a bit more experience, and had gotten older and stronger, then Percy might soon find his positon usurped.

"Speaking of our illustrious leader," Wally began, looking over to where Percy was stood off to one side, deep in conversation with Batman, Martian Manhunter. Black Canary and Red Tornado. "Is it true he killed the assassin, Black Spider?"

"Yeah," Robin nodded, before after a pause he shrugged. "I don't think it was intentional though. He acted on instinct to protect the doctor, it was probably just as much Artemis and my fault for not stopping Black Spider before he got to the room, as it was Percy's.

"Accidents do unfortunately happen in our line of work." Kaldur nodded, his tone filled with understanding. "This why it's best not to dwell on what you can't change."

Robin nodded at that, even as he looked over to where Percy was still talking with Batman. Both of them standing opposite to one another, talking, like equals.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what do you all think? I hope you enjoyed the chapter and leave a review. As I said up top this chapter ended up being longer than I plan, twice as long in fact. However it needed to be in order to fit in all the actions, plotting, development and such. Including a few slightly more subtle things going on, which will become important later. I hope some people picked up on these.**

 **Other than that I hope you all enjoyed reading and leave a review. For the Americans out there, happy independence day from over the pond, I hope you all had/ have a good day over there, or wherever you are.**

 **Thanks a lot for reading. The next story I'll be updating will be either my Percy Jackson/ Avatar the Last Airbender story (Carry on My Wayward Son), my Tokyo Ghoul/ Avengers story (the Reverent), my** **Percy Jackson/ Game of Thrones story (the Last King), or my** **Percy Jackson/ Fairy Tail story (God of Fairies). Stay tuned to find out.**

 **Other than that, thanks for reading and I'll catch you later.**

 **Greed720.**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: So here is the next chapter, and honestly I was lucky to get it out today. Like honestly, it is so hot right now, I am practically melting! Still, it's here and it's my third updated chapter this week, so I am pretty happy with that. That said I hope you all enjoy this chapter and leave a review.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or Percy Jackson.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"_ _Yeah," Robin nodded, before after a pause he shrugged. "I don't think it was intentional though. He acted on instinct to protect the doctor, it was probably just as much Artemis and my fault for not stopping Black Spider before he got to the room, as it was Percy's._

 _"_ _Accidents do unfortunately happen in our line of work." Kaldur nodded, his tone filled with understanding. "This why it's best not to dwell on what you can't change."_

 _Robin nodded at that, even as he looked over to where Percy was still talking with Batman. Both of them standing opposite to one another, talking, like equals._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 13**

 **( - )**

 **(In the backstreets of New Orleans, several days ago)**

It was warm in New Orleans that night, but despite the heat of the day still clinging to the land, an elderly man in a dark, black, old fashioned looking, suit still walked through the city's back alleys, a cane in hand a stoic expression on his face.

The old man in question, despite looking to be nearly ninety year old, still had a confident and strong gait, even as he came to a stop at a nearby door. His eyes roving over the plain looking door, before they moved up to look at the words displayed overhead; ' _MADAM XANADU_ '.

Looking up at the sign, a wry smile played around the man's mouth, even as he dug about in his suit pocket and pulled out a pocket watch, his slightly misty blue eyes fixing on the black and white picture of a young woman that was contained within for a moment, before, with another wry smile, he entered the building.

Moments after he entered, his immediately gaze taking in the gaudy, silk draped, candlelit interior, an exotic looking woman also entered the room. The sensual looking woman pushing her way through a beaded curtain at the far end of the as she did so, her dark, almond shaped eyes locked unerringly on the old man, even as she sashayed towards him, her many jewelled necklaces and bangles clinking together, and her silk like skirt flowing out behind her as she moved.

Smiling coyly at the man, the woman gracefully sank into a nearby seat, her dark gaze locked unflinchingly on him.

"And how can Madam Xanadu help you." The now named Madam Xanadu asked in a lilting tone, before she paused and then continued knowingly. "Ahh I see, there is someone you wish to speak to..." With that said, her dark eyes flickered down to the watch in his hand. "Your… wife, I believe…?"

The man cocked his head to the side in curiosity as he heard that, his rheumy eyes fixed on the much younger woman, before he nodded. "Yes, my wife, my beloved Inza."

Xanadu nodded at that, gesturing for him to take the seat opposite her, a round table with a crystal ball upon placed squarely in between them.

Seeing the gesture, the old man sat down, even as Xanadu cleared her throat expectantly.

"Oh right." The man nodded, pulling out a wad of money from his pocket, before offering it to the woman, who in turn just took it from him and nonchalantly stuck it in her cleavage, after which she closed her eyes, her hands moving to hover above her misty crystal ball as she did so.

Suddenly, as if in response to her actions, a phantom wind blew through the room, and the table shook, even as Xanadu's hair started floating into the air, defying gravity.

The old man raised an eyebrow at these theatrics, even as he shifted back in his seat to watch the show, the wry smile once again on his deeply lined face.

"Oh… My darling... How I missed you." Xanadu suddenly intoned, her voice turning wispy and hoarse, and her eyes glowing and intense pure white as she did so. "I'm so lonely here... and cold..."

Instead of being impressed by this display though, or unnerved, as was probably the usual response, the man instead burst out laughing.

"Ha! That's the best you could do?" He chuckled, his dry, wispy voice holding a hint of both mockery and amusement to it.

Xanadu's eyes turned back to normal in response to the interruption, her dark eyes narrowing and her nostril flaring with anger. "You fool! You have broken the spell! Your wife is now forever lost!"

The old man, instead of being scared, just let out another dry, mocking chuckle. "That was supposed to be my wife? Ha, my little spitfire would have kicked my ass for throwing away good money on you!"

He was being rude, he knew that. But at the same time it amused him to mock these charlatans, these fakes who pretended to have mystic gifts, these scumbags that conned and manipulated vulnerable, grieving people.

Smiling darkly at that thought, the old man locked gazes with the young woman, only to pause, the smile sliding off his face as she didn't explode with outrage like he expected.

Instead the woman had frozen, her eyes wide and her posture suddenly very stiff.

"Oh come on, yet another trick?" The old man asked dryly. He would admit she was a better actor than most, and definitely had the commitment, but still.

 **"** **Kent Nelson…"** Xanadu spoke, her tone completely different that before. Her voice now holding a distinctly melodic note to it, as well as a confidence and power that wasn't there previously.

On top of that the atmosphere in the room suddenly felt much denser and warmer, the air within the room becoming almost stifling as the now named Kent Nelson stood up, his cane gripped tightly in his hands.

"What is this?" Kent demanded, all his previous amusement and condescension fading. This was really magic. On top of that it was of a type he wasn't familiar with. Sure he had witnessed and dealt with multiple types of magic before, including possession, but this felt different.

 **"** **You are not long for this world, Kent Nelson."** Xanadu continued, her words blunt, and her face lacking any emotion as she spoke.

Kent scowled at that, standing a little taller as he did so. "Is that a threat?! I've been alive a long time, so you should know, I don't fear death! In fact I am ready for it! Your threats don't scare me!"

 **"** **This is not a threat, Kent Nelson, it is a statement of fact."** Xanadu replied, a hint of amusement entering the voice now, though again her face remained blank and emotionless. **"I am not here to threaten you Kent Nelson, nor to warn you. I have seen your fate, and it is inevitable. Instead I come with a message…"**

"A message?" Kent asked cautiously.

 **"** **Things are in motion that cannot be stopped. Fate, that which was once set in stone, is now influx. The Son of the Sea has arrived from the realm of chaos, the balance between chaos and order, light and dark, good and evil has now shifted."** Xanadu continued, the voice remaining calm, despite the content of her words. **"This I have seen!"**

"Why are you telling me this?" Kent demanded, his brow furrowing, and his knuckles turning white as he gripped the handle of his cane tighter. "If I am soon to die, why tell me? Why torture me with what is to come, when I can't change it!"

 **"** **Because you still have a part to play before the end, and not as Doctor Fate, but as Kent Nelson. Events will soon be in motion that will bring you into contact with the Son of the Sea. When that happens you will have a choice to make. And when that time comes, you must choose wisely."** Xanadu replied bluntly, her tone firm and uncompromising.

"How do you know all this? What, no, who are you? You have the presence of a divine being, but you are not one, or at least not one I recognise. You are not a divine being as I know them, so who are you?!" Kent demanded, his eyes flashing as he met Xanadu's glowing purple orbs.

This being, she felt like a goddess, yet at the same time she didn't.

Kent, whilst in the guise of Doctor Fate, had met several gods and goddess before, from multiple pantheons, and this woman, she didn't have the agelessness nor the intensity that those ancient gods had. Nor did she have their overwhelming arrogance. Instead she felt almost youthful, or at least when compared to the gods he had interacted with previously.

 **"** **I have given you my warning, cryptic though it might be. It is for you to decide on what you do next."** Xanadu replied softly, her voice for a moment holding a certain note of frustration and sadness, but only for a moment before it went back to being calm. **"Goodbye Kent Nelson, I hope you find the peace in death, that you were not able to in life."**

"Wait!" Kent shouted, his teeth clenching as he felt the presence suddenly vanish, even as Xanadu collapsed bonelessly back into her seat, her eyes no longer glowing, but instead rolling into the back of her skull.

"Damned gods!" Kent cursed, they were all the same, bound by the ancient laws as they were. They could help, but only so much, and only if they wanted too.

More often than not though, instead of helping, they instead deceived and manipulated, sometimes in order to work events so that they went in their favour, whilst at other times they just did it for their own amusement.

Xanadu stirred slightly at his curse.

Before she could fully awaken though, or before Kent could say or do anything else, another person appeared in the room and grabbed the old man. The newcomer's long, dark hair glinting in the light of the room, and his bared teeth glittering as he seized the surprised and off-guard Kent, after which he disappeared in a flash of light.

With Xanadu seemingly awakening moments later, her dark eyes glinting purple as they shifted around the room, before her gaze eventually came to rest on the elderly man's cane, even as it floated up into the air, and then disappeared in a flash of golden light.

 **( - )**

 **(Mount Justice, in the present)**

The main chamber of Mount Justice was busy that morning, as both Kid Flash and Superboy battled one another, both of them moving back and forth across the room as they fought. The both of them honing and practicing their hand to hand combat as Wally used his superhuman speed to go up against Superboy's superhuman strength and invulnerability.

For the last few minutes the both of them in bit of a stale mate, with Kid Flash blurring back and forth, relying on swift, yet powerful strikes to Superboy's joints, relying on hit and run tactics and precise, targeted strikes. Which was his only choice really as the Superman clone's body was otherwise too durable for him to cause any real damage.

Superboy meanwhile kept his guard up, occasionally lashing out with his feet and fists when he saw an opportunity or an opening, but otherwise just weathering Kid Flash's onslaught. The two powered heroes having been battling it out for upwards of half an hour now, with Kid Flash looking all the more weary because of the length of the spar than the clone.

On the other side of the room both Artemis and M'gann could be seen also training, both of them again working on their hand to hand technique, as the Martian stayed on the ground, and didn't use her powers. With M'gann instead relying on her physical fitness, flexibility and strength as she fought with the far fitter, and better trained Artemis.

The blonde archer proving herself to be a far superior fighter in hand to hand than the Martian. Not that she rubbed this in though, as instead she offered pointers where she could, and deliberately lightened her punches when they were aimed at vital spots. Not so much so that they wouldn't still connect and hurt, but enough so that one of them landing wouldn't put the Martian out of the fight or hurt her too much.

Supervising this training was recently hero, Black Canary, or Dinah Lance, the blonde superhero having just recently arrived at Mount Justice in order to see how things were going, before she headed out on patrol.

At present, she was watching the ongoing fight from the side-lines her eyes fixed on both Artemis and M'gann, with her occasionally shouting out corrections to both of their forms. On top of which she also stop the fight every now and then, so as to correct M'gann's stance, or show her how she should, or could have blocked one of Artemis's punches or kicks. That or she turned to Artemis and pointed out flaws in her style, flaws that her opponents, those who were better than her, could take advantage of if she wasn't careful.

On the other side of the chamber to these two ongoing sparring sessions, Percy, Kaldur and Robin were all also fighting it out. All of them eager to stretch their limbs and train, especially since they had not been able to go on a mission since the one with Roquette, which again is why they were all blowing off steam at the moment.

With Robin and Kaldur both wearing their costumes, like the majority of the heroes present. With Robin having also extended his staff, the metal pole spinning easily in his hands as he danced around mixing acrobatics into his fighting style with seamless ease. Whilst Kaldur was a bit more reserved in his style of fighting, with him wielding both his water bearers with practiced ease, both of which he had currently manipulated into the form of cutlasses.

Percy meanwhile, instead of his usual kit, instead wore a pair of trainers, his shorts, a baggy T-shirt, and finally his intricately carved, Celestial Bronze cuirass. Both of his hands and forearms similarly clad in a pair of gleaming, bronze coloured gauntlets as he duelled both Aqualad and Robin in a two on one fight.

His chosen weapon for the occasion being an Amazonian halberd, an absolute beast of a weapon. One which had a five foot long, metal shaft, which in turn had a long, metal spike on one end, and an axe like blade, with a hammer like counter end, and another bladed spike on the other end.

Suffice to say the weapon was probably just as heavy as it was deadly, then again it was meant for Amazonians, all of whom were stronger than a normal human.

Not that this bothered Percy too unduly, as he too was much stronger than an average human, and as such he was able to swing the unfamiliar weapon around with ease. His face set in concentration as he focused on fighting off his two skilled opponents. A feat which was made all the harder by the conditions that he had agreed to before the fight began. Conditions which included him not being able to use any of his abilities which were related to controlling either water or earth.

"Hyah!" Robin shouted, twisting in the air as he leapt over the spiked end of Percy's weapon, even as he hit the ground with a roll, his arms already moving as he whipped his staff around, the weapon blurring through the air as he tried to know Percy's legs out from under him.

Taking a step back at this, Percy avoided the low sweeping blow, even as he swung the halberd through the air. The bladed end practically singing as he angled his hands, constantly manoeuvring them as he swept axe head in the direction of Kaldur.

Only for the Atlantean to back off, his blue eyes narrowing as he then rushed in moments later, no doubt hoping to get in close in order to limit Percy use of the heavy, two handed polearm.

"Nice try!" Percy called out, the shaft slipping through his hand as he swung it round, the spiked end swishing out behind him, nearly tripping Aqualad over, even as Percy then whipped it up and thrust it forward like a spear.

Raising one of his swords, Kaldur deflected the spike, and twisted, his body revolving as he swung his other sword at Percy. Only to hit nothing but air as Percy used the momentum of his deflected thrust to not only dodge the swing, but to also bring the hammer like end of the halberd around in a brutal strike.

Ducking low and rolling back, Kaldur dodged the hammer strike, even as Robin took the opportunity this created to dance forward and lunge at Percy's exposed back, his staff swinging down at the older teen's head.

Swivelling around though, with unnatural reflexes, Percy managed to raise the halberd in both hands and block the staff, a grin spreading across his face as he then unleashed a kick into the overextended Robin's chest. The blow knocking the younger teen straight off of his feet, and sending him smashing into the ground a few feet away.

"You need to practice caution, never fully commit to a strike, not unless you know for certain that it's going to land." Percy lectured, bringing the halberd down, and resting it on his shoulders as he then pivoted, his hands then lifting the weapon using the momentum of the pivot to swing the axe head at Kaldur.

Dancing back to avoid the blow again, Kaldur then once again rushed forward his eyes fixed on Percy's momentarily unguarded left side. Percy's body having naturally twisted to one side due to the strength of the strike, and the weight of the weapon.

"You should take your own advice." Kaldur called out as he closed in on Percy, both blades flashing in the air.

"And you shouldn't get ahead of yourself." Percy replied quickly his arms shifting as he released the halberd with one hand, allowing the staff part of it to swing around his body, using himself as a pivot, even as he swung it around for another strike.

Seeing this Kaldur used both his swords to block, even as he gave ground. He didn't want to try and block the full force of that weapon.

Shattering the blades, Percy's arms then jerked a little as he took a step forward, stopped the halberd near the end of its swing, after which, using inhuman strength, he then swung it back around for another strike.

"Shit!" Kaldur hissed, his eyes narrowing as he saw what Percy was doing. Even as he rushed forward, the water bearers reforming their blades as he did so.

Only for a grunt of pain to leave his lips as the halberd hit him. Fortunately though it wasn't the deadly, bladed end, nor the hammer, instead it was just the metal pole of the weapon smashing into his side as he moved in too close. Not that that meant it didn't hurt, as honestly the force of the blow nearly knocked him straight off of his feet, and it would definitely leave a bruise.

Fortunately though he could bare the pain, as he instead continued his assault, delighting in the fact that he had gotten in close, even as he closed in on Percy, his blades raised.

Seeing this Percy dropped the halberd, taking a step back as he did so, his eyes fixed on the oncoming Kaldur. Only for him to then throw caution to the wind and take a step forward, his now free hands rising to catch Kaldur's wrists, even as his head shot forward.

"Gah!" Kaldur gasped, wincing in pain as he felt Percy grip his wrists in an iron like grip, even as the team leader full on head-butted the Atlantean in the face, his nose crunching, and spewing blood as he did so.

Releasing Kaldur's wrist, Percy then lashed out with his foot, and in a similar move to how he dealt with Robin, he landed a hard kick to his gut, knocking him clean off of his feet and sending the groaning, bloody Atlantean hurtling backwards.

Smiling slightly, Percy turned his head and glanced back at Robin, his smile widening as he saw the younger teen was once again on his feet, though noticeably he was still using his staff as a crutch of sorts whilst he regained his breath.

The kid was persistent, that was good!

"Oi Percy, we're tagging in!" A familiar voice suddenly called out, even as Percy slipped a foot under his fallen halberd and kicked it up, catching it in both hands as he did so.

"Who is we?" Percy replied, turning to Wally as he did so, only for his eyes to widen as he saw a grinning Superboy thundering towards him, even as the costumed Kid Flash blurred away in a red and yellow blur.

By this point, Dinah, Artemis and M'gann had all also noticeably paused in their own training session to watch as the clone and speedster rushed the team leader, even as Aqualad pushed himself back to his feet. His enhanced Atlantean constitution having already allowed him to recover from Percy's kick, though noticeably his face was still quite bloody. With Robin likewise on the way to recovering enough to continue the fight.

"Oh shit!" Percy muttered to himself, swinging his halberd around as he did, putting all his strength into it as he met Superboy's head on charge. The hammer portion of the halberd smashing into the Kryptonian's head with a loud crunch. The force of the blow knocking Superboy clean off of his feet, even as it dented the head of the hammer.

With a loud thud Superboy hit the floor and rolled, the three watching heroine's all groaning and grimacing at the sight and sound from the collision.

Ignoring them and the clone though, Percy instead swung his now partially ruined weapon around, his eyes on the red and yellow blur as he tried to hit him. Only for Kid Flash's speed to be too much as he landed several hits on a row on Percy, each one making him grunt as Wally aimed kicks at the joints of his legs, and punches and punches to his unarmoured head.

The force of Kid Flash's punches, although much weaker than Superboy's, and both Aqualad and Percy's too for that matter, still having enough force behind them to sting, even as one of his punches to Percy's face bloodied his lip.

With Percy absentmindedly spitting out a gob of crimson, gold dusted liquid from his mouth and onto the chamber's floor, even as he wiped his mouth with his hand and used the moisture from his own spittle to heal the small cut on the inside of his mouth.

Growling inwardly at this, Percy swung his halberd in a three sixty degree arc, driving Wally back even as both Robin, Aqualad and the newly recovered Superboy moved forward, all of them looking charging at him as one.

"Everyone attack him at once, we'll overwhelm him!" Kid Flash shouted, coming to a stop between Aqualad and Superboy as he did so.

Scowling as he heard that, Percy hurled his halberd at the trio, putting as much force behind it as he could. The action making both Aqualad and Kid Flash dodge, slowing them down, even as Superboy caught it without issue.

"Throwing away your only weapon! That was stupid!" Robin crowed from behind him, lunging forward at the same time, his staff swing towards Percy's unprotected head.

Only for it to never make it, as Percy, with almost preternatural reflexes, turned and caught it in one hand. Wrenching it forwards as he did so, even as his other hand shot out to land a punch to Robin's gut.

Robin though was ready this time, as without a seconds thought he released the staff and jumped backwards. His eyes flicking over to his three other teammates, all of whom were charging at Percy from behind. A cocky smirk spreading across his face at the thought of their leader finally being taken down, as, although he was on better terms with Percy now, he still didn't enjoy being kicked around in training by the other, older, and significantly more powerful teen.

"We've got him!" Superboy shouted, throwing away the halberd as he rushed Percy, relying on his super strength and fists instead as he did so.

"He's surrounded, he cannot fight all of us off!" Aqualad added on, his water bearers having taken the form of hammers as he charged at Percy too.

"Don't count him out yet though, he's a trick bastard!" Kid Flash added on, regulating his speed so as to not get too ahead of the others as he did so, after all there was always the chance that Percy could catch/ hit him, and then use him to slow or distract the others by knocking him into their paths, if he got too far ahead.

Percy grinned as heard their words, his grip on the staff tightening as he saw them charging him from four different directions, cutting off any chance of escape. They thought they had him, and honestly, without using his hydrokinetic based abilities, or his geokinetic based ones, they were almost right.

Only they hadn't factored one thing in, he had a trump card.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Percy concentrated on one of his less used domains, a tugging sensation spreading out from his gut, even as he raised his staff in the air, before, without a word he then slammed it into the ground beneath him, cracking the floor.

His eyes flicking open as he did so, even as a lightning exploded from his body and spread out in a crackling dome, the air in the chamber suddenly whirling around Percy like a hurricane. The gale force winds picking up detritus and flinging it out in all directions.

"What the hell!" Kid Flash shouted, even as the dome of lightning hit him and hurled him backwards through the air, bolts of lightning running up and down his body, making his limbs twitch and his body smoke as he struck the floor some dozen or so metres away. His costume managed to protect him from the worst of it, but still, it was still stung quite a bit!

At the same time Superboy, Aqualad and Robin were all treated to the same shock treatment. The lightning holding enough power to it, to jolt all the heroes, but not enough to kill them, or to stop their hearts or anything like that.

Groaning on the ground all around him, Aqualad and Superboy were the first of the group to make it to back their feet. Both of them looking over at Percy warily, even as the older, dark haired teen twirled Robin's staff through the air, bolts of lightning visibly trailing over his body and along his staff, even as eyes became two orbs of glowing, crackling lightning. The wind around him intensifying in its strength with every second that passed, even as the lighting continued to arc off of his body, scoring the ground around him with dark, sooty patches.

"You're kidding me! He can control lightning too!?" Robin groaned, shakily pushing himself to his feet as he did so, his gaze flicking over to the other three. "Did you know that?"

All three of them shook their heads in the negative.

"Come on, this shouldn't stop us!" Aqualad cut in, his voice steady as he pushed down his surprise and focused on the task at hand.

"You got that right!" Superboy growled, his face twisting in a scowl, even as his hands twitched. The clone had actually been hurt by the lightning show just now despite his Kryptonian invulnerability.

"Wait, Superboy, did it effect you?" Robin asked quickly, focusing on the clone's twitching hands as he did so. "Because if it did, then that means, well that means that either Percy is carrying some Kryptonite, which is unlikely. Or his abilities are magic in nature!"

Aqualad's expression didn't change at that statement, he had already suspected that such was the case.

Percy however just smirked slightly, his gaze flicking to Robin for a moment.

As for Superboy, he just growled and shrugged the comment off, his attention instead on Percy, his hands clenching into fists as he prepared to deal out some pain!

Kid Flash however just snorted with laughter. "Come on Robin, what crap are you smoking?! There is no such thing as magic! Percy's powers are biological, either from a mutation of some sort in his genes, or due to the mixing of human DNA with alien!"

Kid Flash had come to the resolute opinion that Percy's was some kind of cross between an Atlantean, an Amazon and an alien.

Robin frowned at that, and opened his mouth to retort, however before he could Superboy threw caution to the wind and charged at Percy.

Roaring as he did so, the clone quickly closed in on the older teen, his hands clenched into fists as he bull rushed him, hoping to get in close so he could use his far superior strength to bring Percy down.

Seeing this, Percy swung his staff around and thrust it forward like a spear, lightning rushing down it as he struck Superboy in the chest. The staff acting like a supercharged cattle prod as it blasted Superboy back again.

Ignoring this though, the other three also leapt into action. With Robin hurling three bird-a-rangs at Percy, while Wally blurred away and attempted to hit his legs out under him, with Aqualad using Robin's attack as a distraction whilst he charged in clos from the front.

Unfortunately for them though their makeshift plan was not good enough to catch Percy off-guard. As, without warning Percy raised his freehand and then used his limited Aerokinesis to create a gust of wind which in turn altered the trajectory of Robin's projectiles, making them miss him as they instead shot past him and towards Kid Flash, forcing the speedster to break off his predicable attack as he stumbled to one side in order to dodge the unexpected bladed projectiles.

Following on from that, Percy whipped his staff around using his enhanced strength to knock Kid Flash's legs out from under him, even as he then whipped his staff up and then brought the lightning infused weapon down on the partially airborne speedster, lightning still crackling along the staff as he followed through with his attack and slammed Kid Flash into the ground.

Not pausing for a moment, Percy pivoted on his foot, his staff swinging out for Aqualad this time. His sea green eyes narrowing as he saw how close the Atlantean had gotten whilst he was dealing with Wally.

With the dark skinned Atlantean having lunged for him, both hammers raised and the tattoos on his arm glowing brightly as he aimed to bring them both down on Percy's head.

Twisting Percy raised his staff to block, grunting for a moment as Aqualad's water bearers hit his staff. But only for a moment though, before he grinned, yet more lightning arcing off of him as he did so.

In response the water making up Aqualad's hammer dispersed. But instead of crying out due to his close proximity to the lightning, Kaldur instead grinned. The lightning flowing down his arms, even as his tattoos glowed even brighter.

"What?" Percy muttered, completely taken aback himself now, a look of both surprise and curiousity spreading across his face as he locked eyes with the white haired youth.

With Aqualad having taken advantage of the surprise he caused, as he lunged forward and rammed his fist into Percy's face. The force of the Atlantean's punch snapping his head to one side and making him grunt, his lips smashing into his teeth even as he felt the cartilage in his nose crunch. His cloak of lightning dispersing at the, due mainly to his loss of concentration, and only limited control over the element.

Following through with his attack, Kaldur then gripped the front of Percy's armour with both hands, and thrust his leg behind Percy, even as he knocked him to the ground. With him once again following through with his attack, his legs wrapping tightly around Percy's waist, even as he used his arms to put lock the older teen's right arm and neck.

Sliding down low, Robin then took that moment to kick Percy in the chest as he tried to push himself up, once again knocking him back down, after which the Boy Wonder twisted around and gripped Percy's other arm, pulling it out straight and to him, even as he used his legs to keep Percy in place, putting the older teen in yet another lock.

"Superboy!" Aqualad gasped out, struggling to hold Percy as he bucked and struggled, the veins in the older teen's arms and neck bulging, even as lightning once again began to crackle over his body. The Atlantean's apparent resistance to lightning, and Robin's costume, protecting them both from being electrocuted even as they held him in place. "Get him now!"

"This isn't over!" Percy gritted out, struggling now as he tried to throw both Aqualad and Robin off of him, only for his struggles to stop when the pissed off Superboy leapt at him and landed flying elbow into his gut. The force of the blow creating a loud clang as the punch smashed into his armour, knocking Percy into the ground, and knocking all of the air out of his lungs too, even as the force of the blow almost folded him in two.

"Do you give!?" Kid Flash asked, zipping over now, Robin's staff now in his hands as he pointed the tip at Percy's head, even as the other three kept him down.

"Urgh, yes, fine! I give!" Percy grunted, his voice coming out strained now as Aqualad maintained his arm lock around the Demigod's neck and right arm, even as Robin kept his left arm outstretched and useless, whilst Superboy stood on his armoured stomach using his super strength to keep him on the ground.

In response, the moment he admitted defeat, all four of them backed off allowing Percy to struggle to his feet. Even as M'gann and Artemis whooped and cheered for the victors from the other side of the chamber.

"Yes, victory!" Wally cheered, thrusting both arms into the air in celebration as he did so.

"Dude, it was four on one!" Robin laughed, rolling his eyes as Wally continued to cheer and preen, even as he began collecting up his equipment. "And he was handicapped, it wasn't exactly a fair fight…"

"A victory, is a victory all the same." Aqualad nodded, reaching out to help Percy up as he did so.

"Thanks." Percy nodded, massaging his stomach as he did so. "But yeah, you got me. Then again I wasn't expecting Wally, and you, Superboy, to get involved."

"Seemed like a good idea at the time. Expect the unexpected." Superboy shrugged.

Wally rolled his eyes at Percy's comment too. "Yeah and we didn't think you could go all Thor God of Thunder on us! I mean come on man, what was with the whole lightning thing, since when could you do that, and why haven't we seen it before!?"

"I will admit, that took me by surprise too!" Dinah spoke up now, approaching the group with both Artemis and M'gann as she did so. Her eyes fixed on Percy, her expression curious, if also a little cautious.

Black Canary had been one of the heroes, along with Batman, who were initially not too pleased about Black Spider's death in the last mission. Though thankfully she, like most of the other naysayers, did accept that it was accidental. With the authorities confirming such when they collected Black Spider's body, investigated the scene and the circumstances, and interviewed Roquette, and several others, all while under the watchful eye of Batman.

"Are you alright?" M'gann asked Percy in concern, walking past Black Canary as she did so, as she instead offered him a bottle of water, even as she looked him over.

"Fine, thanks." Percy nodded, taking the offered water and downing half of it, before moments later tipping the rest of it over his head, delighting in the re-energising feeling that came with doing this, even as he felt his aches and pains being rapidly healed. "And yeah, I have limited Electrokinetic and Aerokinetic abilities. I have nowhere near the same control over them as I do with water though, or even earth. That said, I am able to do some pretty basic tricks with them." Percy then shrugged easily.

"You call those things basic?!" Superboy muttered, looking down at his charred shirt, and massaging the area that Percy had jabbed with his lightning covered staff as he did so.

"In comparison to what I can do with water and earth, yeah." Percy shrugged.

"Dude, has anyone ever told you that you're seriously overpowered!" Wally grumbled.

Percy shrugged at that. "It's in my nature."

"You do like being cryptic don't you!" Robin sighed in exacerbation, not missing Percy's little smirk at his comment.

"Still, that was a pretty awesome fight!" Artemis cut in, changing the topic slightly now. "I'm kinda jealous we didn't get stuck in too!"

"There'll be time for that later, for now the focus needs to be on perfecting your individual techniques." Dinah replied. "Honestly, that whole spar got out of hand. You're all lucky no one got hurt!"

Superboy, Kid Flash and Aqualad shifted uncomfortably as they heard Black Canary's words.

Percy meanwhile shrugged. "We were in control of the situation."

"Hmm," Dinah hummed, a slight frown on her face now. "Still, you need to be careful. The team could be called out at any moment, you lot shouldn't be beating each other up, not when you might need to head out on a mission at any moment!"

Percy paused as he heard that, before a few moments later he nodded. "Right, yeah, sorry, I didn't think of that."

Dinah smiled a bit at that. "But still it was an impressive fight. You really do have a lot of tricks up your sleeve Percy."

Percy grinned at that, accepting the praise, even as he turned to the others. "The rest of them are pretty good too. They're all improving. I mean several of them took me by surprise, especially you Kaldur! Since when were you immune to electricity?"

"I'm not immune," Kaldur shrugged, putting his water bearers away as he did so, after which he gestured at the tattoos on both his arms. "However I do have a high resistance, in part it is because I use lightning in conjunction with water to create my weapons."

Percy blinked in surprise as he heard that. "Really? I never knew that. I just assumed you did the same thing I did and used pure water manipulation to form your weapons?"

Kaldur shifted uncomfortably as he heard that. "No, that is not what I do, that kind of magic is not common. Though there are some in Atlantis capable of such feats, my friends Garth…, and Tula, they study under Queen Mera and are both far more talented with that form of Atlantean magic then I!"

"And yet again about the magic!" Kid Flash groaned, throwing his hands up as he did so. "Can't we just call it what it really is, you know, science."

"You have super speed, and you're on a team with aliens, clones, Atlanteans, and whatever Percy is, is the idea that magic is real really that out of the realms of possibility?" Artemis asked mockingly, rolling her eyes at Wally's continued scepticism.

"Yes," Wally replied bluntly, before opening his mouth to say more, only for him to pause. A slight frown on his face, before he quieted down.

Percy smiled as he noticed this. Ever since the mission to protect Roquette, Wally had been acting differently. Sure he could still be annoying and immature at times, however Percy had noted that he was making an effort not to be. He was even holding back on antagonising Artemis now, though he did noticeably struggle at that at time, especially when the archer deliberately needled him.

Fortunately, before Artemis could do just that, they were all distracted by the oval door in the roof of the chamber opening, even as the red, android, hero, Red Tornado, flew down. The large robot landing without a word, it's empty robotic eyes surveying all of those present, including the costumed Black Canary for a moment, before it then turned and made to head off and go about it's business.

"Hey," Wally called out, his attention now fully on Red Tornado as he blurred over to stand in front of him, even as the rest of the team turned to the robot. "Do you happen to have a mission for us?"

"Mission details are Batman's area." Red Tornado replied in his usual metallic voice.

"True, but Batman isn't here right now. He's out with Green Arrow, so you couldn't you help us out? You know, if you are not busy." Robin replied, the Boy Wonder knowing exactly what the Dark Knight was up to today, after all he had been supposed to join Batman on patrol. Only for him to get out of it by instead coming to Mount Justice in order to train, and create stronger bonds with the team.

"We can be of help." Kaldur added in, giving a slight bow as he did so.

To the side Dinah rolled her eyes, pulling on her coat as she prepared to head off out on patrol. "Don't worry about it Red, they tried the exact same thing with me when I came in to give them some training earlier."

Several of the others turned to her at that.

"That said, I leave them to you." Dinah then continued, smiling now as she headed for the Zeta tubes, giving the team a final wave as she did so. "I need to head to work soon! So I'll see you all later!"

"Bye Dinah!" M'gann waved, a bright grin on her face, even as the rest of the team also waved, or said their goodbyes.

"Oh, and remember to behave!" Dinah laughed, giving them all that light-hearted warning before she stepped through the Zeta Tube and vanished.

"So anyway what about it, do you have anything we can help with?" Artemis asked enthusiastically.

Red Tornado, paused as he heard that, before he turned and walked up to a nearby console. Quickly opening up a large holographic screen as he did so, upon which an old man in a suit, and with a cane, could be seen.

"This is Kent Nelson, he is one hundred and six years old." Red Tornado then said, turning away from the console and looking at the team as he did so.

"Doesn't look a day over ninety." Robin muttered, Wally grinning slightly at the comment, even as the others ignored it.

"Kent Nelson was a charter member of the Justice Society, a precursor to your mentor's Justice League," Red Tornado forged on calmly, reaching out to the console again as he did so. The image on the screen changing as he did so to reveal a man in a blue and gold costume, with matching, gold cape and an odd looking, gold helmet.

Percy frowned as he digested this information. He didn't even know there was a precursor to the Justice League, let alone who this Kent Nelson guy might have been.

Kaldur however, seemed to recognise the image immediately. "Of course, Nelson was Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. He was Doctor Fate."

From the side, Wally couldn't help but snort with laughter, even as he leaned over to Artemis. "More like Doctor Fake. Guy knows a little advanced science and Dumbledore's it up to magic."

Artemis rolled her eyes at that, before ignoring him.

Percy meanwhile just shook his head. Wally was probably in for a big shock in the future, as magic was very real, just as it was also very dangerous.

"Kent could be on one of his walkabouts but he is the holder of the Helmet of Fate. It is unwise to leave such power unguarded," Red Tornado forged on unperturbed.

"He is like the great priests and priestess of Mars. I would be honoured to help him," M'gann spoke up, her own eyes wide with excitement.

"Me too! Magic totally rocks," Wally grinned. In response to which, Artemis rolled her eyes. The speedster walking over to M'gann as he did so, his smile widening as he saw the excitement on her face. "What are the chances we are both so into the mystic arts?"

Once again Percy shook his head in amusement. Yes Wally was slowly but surely growing gup and maturing, but it was an ongoing process and as such he could still act pretty juvenile at times.

Red Tornado ignored him, and instead handed Percy a golden key. "Take this, use it to unlock the Tower of Fate. You will need to take a leap of faith."

"Right," Percy nodded, not all too enthusiastic about the upcoming errand. After all, it didn't take an entire team to check up on an old man.

In fact a part of him was tempted to delegate the task to one of the others. That or he might just take one or two of the others with him on this errand, and then leave the rest back here so that they could continue their training whilst they waited for a real mission to come up.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what did you all think? I hope you enjoyed it and leave a review! If you have any questions please feel free to PM me, I am usually good at responding.**

 **Thanks for reading, and I'll see you later.**

 **Greed720.**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: So hey everyone, here I am back again with another update! The last chapter was pretty well received, even though some were not too pleased that a portion of it was taken up with a spar between the teens. To which all I can say was that I deemed it important, both because it allowed me portray the teams abilities, as well as how their relationship was developing.**

 **On top of which some important things went off in that section, something which only a couple of people seemed to pick up on.**

 **Still, aside from that, the chapter was well received, and the support for this story, as always was phenomenal, so genuinely, thanks a lot for that. All the reviews and comments, even the critical ones, really do help!**

 **Thanks a lot for reading, hope you enjoy and review!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the DC universe.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _Once again Percy shook his head in amusement. Yes Wally was slowly but surely growing up and maturing, but it was an ongoing process and as such he could still act pretty juvenile at times._

 _Red Tornado ignored him, and instead handed Percy a golden key. "Take this, use it to unlock the Tower of Fate. You will need to take a leap of faith."_

 _"_ _Right," Percy nodded, not all too enthusiastic about the upcoming errand. After all, it didn't take an entire team to check up on an old man._

 _In fact a part of him was tempted to delegate the task to one of the others. That or he might just take one or two of the others with him on this errand, and then leave the rest back here so that they could continue their training whilst they waited for a real mission to come up._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 14**

 **( - )**

 **(With Percy, Nine months ago, on the Island of Themyscira)**

 _With a last roar, Percy released all of the energy from his body, the wave of seismic energy he unleashed blowing his attackers away, just as it blew apart the surrounding cavern._

 _Gasping out a breath a few seconds later, Percy wrenched his sword out of the ground and looked up, his eyes closing in glorious rapture as he felt the sunlight streaming down upon him, bathing him in its warm embrace for the first time in nearly a century._

 _When he opened his tired eyes a few moments later though, ignoring the groans of his attackers as they struggled to get up, the rapturous smile soon left his face as his gaze locked on the shadowed figure that drifted down from overhead._

 _It was a beautiful, statuesque woman, one that was wielding a gleaming silver sword in one hand, and what looked like a glowing, golden rope in the other._

 _Focusing in on her, Percy could see that the woman also had thick, waist length, black hair that floated about behind her in the wind, and cold, piercing blue eyes. Eyes which were currently fixed on Percy with unnerving intensity, and barely concealed rage._

 _"_ _When will this end." Percy growled, staggering upwards as he did so, his body aching in a hundred different places as he raised his sword and prepared to fight. "Well then, come on witch! Come taste the wrath of the Poseidon's most powerful son!"_

 **( - )**

 **(With Diana, Princess of Themyscira)**

 _"_ _Arrogant man!" Diana hissed, her blue eyed gaze, glacial, as she glared down at the ragged looking, sweat covered, gore stained man in front of her. Her curling in disgust as she saw the bloody sword of bone he had in one hand. "Vile savage, I will hurl you back into the depths of Tartarus where you belong!"_

 _She was incensed, angrier than she could ever remember being before, even in all her many centuries of life. This man, or monster, or whatever he was. He had broken out of Tartarus beaten and broken the Guardians of the Gate, many of whom were even now groaning in pain, or were scattered motionless around him._

 _This animal had attacked her sisters, invaded her island, and looking around she could see that he had also despoiled the land as well._

 _Already, a large part of the mountain around him had been turned to rubble, and in the distance her sharp eyes could see cracks running through the earth, and the ruins of the many temples and buildings that dotted the immediate area._

 _Now Diana had seen a lot of destruction in her time, especially since she had left the island of Themyscira and begun to explore and protect the world of man, all under the guise of Wonder Woman._

 _She had seen cities laid to waste, innocents killed and terrorised. She had faced off against insane criminals, mutated villains, and foul monsters, both eldritch, demonic beings, and mortals._

 _But even so, never before had she been so angered, as she was now. Then again the reason for that might be obvious, as never before had she seen so many of her sisters, women she loved and had known for centuries, hurt like this. Nor had she ever seen such destruction wrought on her homeland._

 _Yes, she had never before been this angry, but that because, never before had it been personal!_

 _Looking up at her, Diana soon found herself looking into a pair of tired, yet furious, phosphorous green eyes._

 _The man in question, who looked notably younger than she expected, snarling at the sight of her, his lip curling to reveal his teeth, even as he raised his barbaric sword in challenge._

 _"_ _Well then, come on witch! Come taste the wrath of Poseidon's most powerful son!"_

 _A Demigod then, Diana thought, her mind whirling as she instinctively took up the man's challenge. Swooping down from the air like a bullet, her sword in one hand and her golden lasso, the Lasso of Truth, in the other._

 _She had thought that the last of the male Demigods had died out millennia. After all the majority of the gods had long since left this world, departing to the higher plains, many, many years ago. In fact the only ones she knew of that still occasionally interacted with the mortal world was Ares, and he had been banished, and imprisoned in the Pit millennia ago. Artemis, the virgin goddess, who appeared once in a while. And her own father, Zeus, but even he had only descended to this world twice in the last four hundred years._

 _Which of course made her question the veracity of the man's words. He could be lying and attempting to intimidate her, without realising that she was a Demigod, as too were three other Amazons on this island._

 _That or this could be a fallen Demigod, born during the Age of the Gods like two of her other fellow Amazons. A cursed child. One who committed crimes that were so obscene, and so cruel, that he had been banished to the Eternal Pit. Banished to suffer through unending torment as a punishment for the crimes he committed whilst he had been on the mortal world._

 _Yes, that too was a possibility, and it would certainly explain his barbaric appearance, and how he was powerful enough to defeat the Guardians of the Gate, all of whom, Diana knew for certain, were strong, skilled, experienced and deadly warriors._

 _All of these thoughts occurred to Diana in the few moments it took for her to shoot down from the sky and engage the enemy. Her form shifting through the air with ease as she weaved in between two crescent like blades of water and a spear of ice, even as she final joined combat with him._

 _Her sword whipping out, with it being little more than a silver blur as she lashed out at the juncture between his neck and shoulder._

 _Only for the man to react in an instant with inhuman reflexes, his bone like blade shooting up to deflect her sword. His sudden, and unexpected actions, jarring her arm, and knocking her off guard for but a single moment._

 _Though it was a moment that he was able to take advantage of! With his free, dirty hand clasping around her neck at the exact same moment that he deflected her blade, only for him to twist, using her own momentum as he twirled around and slammed her head first into the ground._

 _Unfortunately for him though, Diana's skin was harder than the rock he sent her smashing into. Which is why the earth below her cratered, even as he released her, and she counterattacked in the same moment. The force of the blow barely winding her as she used her hands to brace herself on the floor and kicked out at him._

 _One of her booted feet colliding with his chest as she did so. The force of the backwards kick knocking him clear off of his feet, and sending him hurtling back over twelve feet. His body then smashing into, and through, a pile of rubble before he rolled and made it to his feet._

 _And he was just in time too, for the moment he made it to his feet, he had to defend himself. His blade little more than a blur as Diana rushed him with her own. The two of the trading scores of deadly blows, so fast, that to a mortal they would look like little more than blurs._

 _"_ _You will pay for what you've done to my homeland!" Diana snarled, her blue eyes flashing with controlled rage as she danced forwards, her blade slashing through the air as she moved with inhuman grace. Her form as perfect as it was dangerous. Though considering that it was one she had practiced and honed for centuries, then maybe that wasn't a surprise._

 _"_ _I was defending myself you crazy bitch!" The man snarled back, his own form just as dangerous as her own, if not quite as elegant. No, it was far too brutal and efficient for it to be called beautiful. Effective though, that was one word that fit his style to a tee._

 _"_ _You invaded this island and brutalised my sisters, and now you dare to say it was self-defence! Truly you are a vile, disgusting creature! And for your crimes, monster, I will hurl you back into the Pit form whence you came!" Diana replied furiously, leaping up and using her ability to fly to her advantage as she shot forwards, her manoeuvrability and speed increasing as she started whipping around him, attacking him from above and from all sides._

 _"_ _I will die before I go back down there!" The dark haired man replied just as furiously, the air around him suddenly going very, very cold, so much so that Diana's breath quickly became visible and her limbs began to feel numb, even as frost began to coat her sword and armour._

 _Gritting her teeth at this, Diana had to fly backwards pretty sharpish when razor sharp shards of ice formed in the air in front of him, the shards themselves being created out of blood, sweat and the moisture in the air._

 _Within seconds, dozens, of foot long shards of ice had formed all around the man, before a moment later his cold green eyes met hers, and the shards shot towards her like speeding bullets._

 _"_ _Or rather you will die before I go back there, witch! For you should know, I am Perseus Jackson, The Son of Poseidon, The Slayer of Titans and Giants, the Bane of Monsters, and Hero of Olympus! For more than a century I have walked through the Pit, and in that time I have fought and killed monster so ancient, and so powerful, that their very existence has been deliberately lost to time! It will take more than some vile, evil witch to force me back down there!"_

 _Diana's eyes widened at the man's wild raving, her eyes locking with his, even as she took note of the barely contained insanity that dwelled within those cold, green orbs._

 _Unfortunately she only had a moment to ponder on his words, before she had to fly, her body shooting backwards and her arms shooting forwards as she had to rapidly dodge and deflect the scores of ice shards that were flying at her. With her having to loop the Lasso of Truth back onto her belt as she focused entirely on dodging and deflecting the now named, Perseus's, attacks._

 _Following this up, the Son of Poseidon raised his hand and thrust it forwards, the air in front of him visibly vibrating, even as a sudden wave of energy seem to pass through it, the waving having emanated from the dirty, golden dust encrusted, palm of his hand._

 _Scowling at this, Diana flew upwards, flying far above the ground, even as the wave of energy smashed into a nearby, recently formed cliff face. The force of the wave shattered the rock to dust and splinters, and blowing a fifty foot cliff apart in seconds._

 _"_ _An airborne earthquake. Incredible control over ice and water. This may indeed be a Son of Poseidon." Diana muttered to herself, swooping down again as she did so, her blade flashing around as she cut through two more crescent like blades of water, even as she had to twirl to the side to avoid another wave of seismic energy._

 _This foe was far stronger than she first thought, and far stranger too._

 _Continuing forwards, Diana barely batted an eye as the now named Perseus stamped his foot onto the ground, the action causing innumerably spikes of rock and earth to erupt from out of the ground around her._

 _No, instead she bulled through them, relying on both her flight and god given durability and super strength, as she instead closed in on the visibly surprised looking Son of Poseidon._

 _"_ _Prepare yourself Sea Spawn!" Diana snapped, the air around her exploding in dust and shards of rock as she got within ten feet of the tall, dark haired man, her silver sword gleaming as the sun caught it, even as she thrust it forward, the tip aim at the man's chest. "For you fight Diana, Princess of Themyscira, the Bane of Ares, and the Daughter of Zeus!"_

 _Perseus's eyes widened a fraction, both at her words and her sudden proximity. But only for a moment though, before his face set into a scowl. The air around him suddenly thickening, slowing her charge, even as her skin began to tingle, and her armour, bracelets and sword began to slowly, but visibly corrode._

 _With this being something that immediately threw her for a loop. After all she had had no idea that such a thing was even possible. Her armour was made out of Amazonian steel and leather, and was far harder and as such was more resilient than armour made out of any normal, mortal materials._

 _More than that though, the closer she got to Perseus, the faster her magic armour and clothing began to break apart, as well as the more intense the tingling feeling on her skin became._

 _Looking down, she could see her previously, tanned, flawless, olive coloured skin had begun turning red, almost as if it were being burnt._

 _Honestly, it almost felt like she was suddenly wading through an acid bath, and yes, Diana unfortunately had experience of just such a thing. Only the acid here felt far stronger than anything she had heard of before, after all it would have to be if it was not only able to affect her weapons and armour, but also her inhumanly durable body._

 _"_ _I do not want to kill you, Daughter of Zeus." Perseus suddenly said, looking up now, even as the rubble and rocks around him began to break apart and dissolve. His eyes notably glowing green now, even as they showed a hint of pity, and sadness in them. "But I have suffered too long in the depths of Tartarus, I refuse to return there!"_

 _That, more than anything, struck a chord in Diana. He honestly looked, and sounded remorseful. This was not something she expected from an insane, monster that had been sent to Tartarus._

 _"_ _I'll make it quick." Perseus continued resolutely, his sword falling down by his side, even as he raised his hand in the air, the air around him becoming even thicker and more acidic as he did so._

 _"_ _So will I!" Diana replied, parts of her skin now very red and raw, and her armour, gauntlets and sword covered in a layer of rust. Blood spattering forth from her lips as she spoke, only for it dissolve into nothingness the moment it left her mouth. At the moment it genuinely felt as if her insides were started to dissolve._

 _"_ _Wha…?! Perseus replied, his head tilting to one side in confusion. Only for him to be interrupted before he could finish the sentence, as Diana's muscles visibly tensed and bulged, before then she shot forwards, cleaving through the thick, dense acid like it wasn't even there, even as she closed in on Perseus, her fist pulled back, and a snarl on her face._

 _Raising his sword, Perseus's blade shattered hers as she lashed out at him with it. Only for her to duck under his quick counterattack, her movements far faster than his as she released the hilt of her blade and got within his personal space. Her other hand clenching into a fist as she did so, before with a loud war cry she drove it into his gut._

 _Gold flecked, crimson blood sprayed out of his mouth in response, even as Diana saw him fold over, and felt several of his ribs break. The thick, mist of acid around him dispersing within moments, even as she followed through with her punch. Her fist lifting him into the air, before she took a step forward and smashed the taller, brawny man into the ground. The earth beneath him cratering as she did so._

 _"_ _Gah!" Perseus spat, more blood spraying from his lips and spattering Diana's face. His sword falling from his hands and clattering onto the ground as he did so._

 _Diana ignored this though, as she instead slammed her knee into Perseus's midriff. Her other hand grasping the golden coloured, darker golden fur lined, leather jacket he wore, as she pulled him up, ignoring how oddly metallic it felt as she did so._

 _Meeting her gaze, Perseus, despite looking dazed, managed to still land a wild punch to her head. The force of the blow as it hit her face causing her to turn her head to the side, even as she heard the bones in his hand break._

 _"_ _Nice try!" Diana replied, pushing back her surprise at how physical weak he seemed to be, or at least for a Demigod. Sure he was far, far stronger than a mortal, but he was seemingly nowhere near as strong she herself, or some of the other members of the Justice League, like Superman and Captain Marvel._

 _Ignoring that for now though, Diana instead responded with her own punch. Her fist colliding with his head, even as she used her other hand to pull him forward, adding to the power of her punch as she connected and knocked him unconscious with a single, brutal blow._

 _Releasing her grip on him, Diana, allowed him to fall to the fall with a crump, even as she staggered to her feet. But only for a moment, before a wave of fatigue hit her and forced her to fall to one knee, as the consequences of the fast, brutal fight, and the amount of energy she had used in it, quickly caught up with her._

 _Still, despite this, she managed to stagger to her feet, even as she un-looped her Lasso of Truth and began to tie Perseus up with it. The man had some very pointed questions to answer!_

 **( - )**

 **(With Percy, on the Bioship)**

Opening his eyes as he awoke, Percy ended up blinking them blearily a couple of times as he looked around. It appeared he had fallen asleep in the middle of their trip to Salem, Massachusetts.

Sitting up in his chair, Percy rubbed the sleep out of his eyes absentmindedly, even as he pushed back the amused smile that wanted to spread across his face as he remembered what he had been dreaming about.

His first, and very fractious, meeting with Diana.

"Oh Percy, you're awake?" M'gann said cheerfully from beside him, making him look up at the red haired alien, even as he looked around at the other two members of the team that he had brought with him. "I hope it wasn't Artemis and Wally's bickering that woke you?"

Percy cocked an eyebrow at that. Only for his question to be answered moments later as he tuned into the duo's conversation.

"So Wally, when did you start believing in magic again?" Artemis asked, a smirk on face as she looked up from the arrow she was absently playing around with to instead look at the read haired speedster.

"Well as I told you before, I have always been into the mystic arts." Wally replied, kicking back in his chair and sending a smirk over at M'gann, even as he continued to lie through his teeth. "I mean didn't you know? Before becoming Kid Flash, I seriously considered a career in magic!"

Percy held back the desire to roll his eyes at that, even as he met M'gann's hazel eyes.

'He does remember that you can hear his surface thoughts and feelings, and thus know he is lying, doesn't he?' Percy thought to the Martian, shifting on the oddly, squishy chair beneath him as he tried to make himself comfortable.

M'gann giggled in his head as she heard that. 'No, he forgot that you requested that the three of you were linked up to me before you left. No wait, that's not true. He hasn't forgotten, he just hasn't realised what I can and cannot hear, with only this loose connection.'

"Hmm," Percy hummed, catching the arguing duos' attention as he did so, both of them looking up at him in surprise as he rubbed the back of his neck, massaging it even as he twisted his head to one side, and the bones let out some quiet cracks.

"Percy, when did you wake up?" Wally said cheerfully, sitting straighter in his seat at the sight of his captain, the team leader, being once again, wide awake.

"Just now." Percy grunted, a wry smile playing across his face.

"We didn't wake you did we?" Artemis then asked, a guilty look playing across her face as she met his gaze.

"It doesn't matter, we should be nearly there anyway." Percy replied easily, before he turned back to Wally. "Oh and Wally, do remember that our minds are all connected. We can tell when you are lying."

"Err…" Wally replied, his eyes widening as he looked from the smirking Artemis, to the amused Percy, and then over at the disinterested M'gann. "Oh…"

"Ha, idiot." Artemis chortled, her hand rising as she covered her mouth and stifled her laughter.

"Hn, like you remembered." Wally shot back feebly.

"Enough," Percy cut in, his lips quirking upwards in amusement, even as he quelled their arguing. "We're almost there, both of you get ready."

"Yeah, yeah…" Wally sighed, rolling his eyes. "I mean, who knows how dangerous playing babysitter duty to some old guy will be?"

"Wally, show some respect to your elders. Kent Nelson is a former hero, and a powerful mage, he is someone that should be revered, not mocked!" M'gann spoke up sternly, her voice still soft, even if it held a firmness to it that was not normally there.

Turns out M'gann was more theologically minded that she appeared. She seemed to hold sorcerers and mages, or the priest like equivalent on Mars, in very high esteem. So much so that she would actually argue with one of her teammates to ensure that they got the respect they deserved. Which was especially surprising as normally the gentle, good natured Martian got on with everyone, and was almost too friendly.

"Uh, sorry." Wally replied lamely, a hint of guilt passing through the mental bond as he looked away from M'gann and instead stared out of the ship's window.

"Why did we bring him again?" Artemis cut in, looking to Percy as she did so, and ignoring Kid Flash's offend 'oi!' as she did so. "I mean wouldn't Aqualad have been a better choice? He was talking about Atlantean magic and stuff, that and he's not as much of an ass as Wally!"

"Easy there Artemis, remember he is your teammate and so you should be getting along." Percy replied, his lip quirking upwards for a moment, before he paused and sent the duo a speculative look. "As for why I picked you, well the reasoning was obvious, or at least it was to me. Wally, I picked because of his lack of belief, which is something I want to change before it becomes a detriment on a mission. Meeting Kent Nelson should hopefully go some way to opening Wally's eyes to just how big the universe is, and how unexplainable too."

"Yeah, sure, I'll believe it when I see something that can't be explained by science." Wally drawled, rolling his eyes at Percy's comment, though he did notice the amused gleam in Percy's eyes. "Or mutation or genetics!" He then tagged on, much to Percy's continued amusement.

"We'll see." Percy replied, before looking away and over at Artemis. "As for you Artemis, you I have brought along because I want to improve the relationship between you and Wally. So far everyone in the team has started getting along, which in turn has improved our teamwork and synchronicity. The exception being the two of you!"

Artemis scowled at that, but didn't object, instead she turned and met Kid Flash's gaze. A truculent expression on her face, and a petulant one on his at the reminder of how abrasive they found one another.

"Should you really be telling us this if you want us to work it out? Shouldn't it, I don't know, be like a secret of something?" Artemis then asked, tearing her gaze form Wally as she instead met Percy's amused eyes.

"Subtlety was never my forte, nor do I like deliberately deceiving people, or at least for no reason." Percy shrugged, before his smile widened. "I am stubborn though, and am not going to stop until the two of you can at least get along with each other, or at least well enough to work together."

Both Artemis and Wally let out dual sighs at that, and rolled their eyes. Only for them to catch one another's gazes, and notice the similarity of their actions, after which they both resolutely looked away from one another.

"And what about me?" M'gann chipped in, a look of interest on her face as she looked to Percy.

"You I brought along, partly because you are so interested in magic, and partly because you are an incredibly useful member of the team, and I think that this mission can benefit from your presence." Percy replied just as bluntly.

His words causing M'gann's cheeks to heat up as she looked away in embarrassment. Artemis to sigh, though the reason behind this was not obvious. And then finally, it caused Wally to grumble to himself about Percy being 'a smooth bastard'.

Ignoring their reactions though, Percy instead looked away and out of the window, his gaze fixed on the distant town of Salem as the invisible craft whizzed closer and closer to it.

"Superboy, Kaldur and Robin however, although very capable, I didn't bring along, as the mission did not necessitate the full power of the team. Instead they've got the day off to do whatever they want." Percy continued, absentmindedly toying with the hilt of his Drakon bone sword as he did so.

"Yeah, well I heard Robin is heading back to Gotham to go on patrol there with some newbie. Apparently Bats has picked up a new sidekick whilst Robin was gone, some chick who is calling herself, Batgirl, original eh?" Wally chuckled, rolling his eyes at the derivative name.

"This coming from Kid Flash?" Artemis chipped in sarcastically.

"Hey, it's not the same!" Kid Flash tried feebly.

"Hmm Wally, I'm not sure this new girl, as you call her, would like being referred to as a sidekick, I mean you didn't, did you?" M'gann added in.

"Hey come on, what is this, gang up on Wally day?" Wally replied, noticeably sidestepping the comment as he did so.

"Well anyway, I'm sure both Robin and Batgirl will benefit from this day together on patrol." Percy interrupted, ending the ensuing bickering as he instead smiled. "Who knows, this new girl could one day end up joining the team?"

"Hey, that's an idea! I hope she's cute too!" Wally suddenly nodded, changing his tone as he instead started to smirk.

"Urgh, creep." Artemis sighed.

"Wally, do you know what the other two are doing?" Percy cut in quickly, preventing Wally from retorting, or Artemis from continuing to antagonise the speedster as he did so.

"Ermm, well Kaldur said he was heading back to Atlantis to check in on his friends; Tula and Garth, oh and to see Aquaman too I suppose." Wally replied, sending Artemis the stink eye one last time before he then sent Percy a speculative look. "Bet it's nice down there, have you ever been to Atlantis, Percy?"

"Stop fishing, Wally." Percy sighed, deliberately not answering, though at this point he was more doing so as he knew it would irritate Wally. Petty, but it amused him.

"Was that a pun?" Artemis grinned.

"It was not on porpoise." Percy shot back, flashing her a grin of his own, even as Wally let out a groan.

"Puns are the lowest form of comedy!" Wally grumbled, a betrayed look on his face as he looked at Percy. "I expected better from you man!"

In response Percy sent him a smirk.

"So what about Supes?" Artemis suddenly asked, a slight smile on her face now.

"No idea," Wally replied honestly.

"He told me that he was heading to Metropolis to try and force a meeting Superman." M'gann spoke up, catching all three of their attentions as she did so.

"Really?" Wally asked, an uncomfortable expression on his face. They all knew that the clone, and Superman had a… complex relationship.

"Yes, and Wonder Woman is helping to facilitate the meeting." M'gann tagged on, a smile on her face at the thought of Superboy finally getting the break he deserved.

"She is, when did that happen?" Percy asked, a surprised look on his face.

"The other day," M'gann shrugged, "She popped into the cave looking for you, so she could take you out for a; 'coffee and a catch up'. But you weren't around at the time, so she instead just spoke to Superboy and me for a while. Then one thing led to another, and when she heard how Superman had been acting, she promised Superboy she would try and help him out."

"Hey, that was nice of her! She really is as great as they say!" Artemis said, figurative stars in her eyes at the thought of Wonder Woman, who in the eyes of the world was the epitome of the ultimate Heroine, and an icon and a role model to billions.

"Yeah Percy, you're mum is awesome!" Wally tagged on.

"Nice try Wally, but she's not my mother." Percy shot back dryly, before he turned to Artemis and shrugged. "She's alright, though she can be a bit too meddling at times…"

"Still, hopefully things work out and Superboy and Superman can finally start building a relationship." M'gann chipped in, getting a grunt of assent from Percy as she did so.

"Well anyway, on that note, we are here," M'gann then continued, catching the attention of the others as she slowed the craft down, and began to make it descend, near to where the Tower of Fate was supposedly located.

 **( - )**

 **(Elsewhere)**

Appearing on the Watchtower with a flash of light, Dinah Lance strolled across the Watchtower's cavernous atrium, her footsteps measured and self-assured as she passed by Hawkwoman and Green Lantern, both of whom were talking. With Dinah only stopping to give the duo a smile and a nod, before she passed the two friends by and then entered the observation hub.

The moment she did so, Dinah paused and looked around.

No matter how many times she saw this place she couldn't help but be impressed. Both by the technology it boasted, and by the amount of data and information that passed through these walls.

The entire room was filled with machinery and screens, many of which were even now showing ongoing catastrophes around the world that members of the Justice League had been deployed too. Of course the screens could also show other things, the Watchtower had the capabilities to hack into every single CCTV system and web camera, or online camera or speaker system in the world.

The place was basically a spy's wet dream, and probably a larger version of Batman's lair.

Speaking of Batman, the cowled Dark Knight in question was the only person present in the room at the moment. With the hero in question sitting in contemplative silence in his chair, his cold eyes fixed on the screen in front of him, even as it played through the surveillance footage from Mount Justice. Or rather the most recent sparring match that had taken place there just hours previously.

"Black Canary." Batman said bluntly as he paused the footage, right at the point at which Percy's body had become enshrouded in lightning. With the Dark Knight instead looking away and spinning in his chair as he turned to face Dinah. "What's the situation?"

"Percy, Artemis, Wally and Megan have all gone on a mission. Robin is off back to Gotham to check in on your newest protégé. Superboy is off to Metropolis and Kaldur down to Atlantis. The entire team are off on either missions or errands, and as such my services down there are no longer needed." Dinah shrugged, rattling off a report of the team's ongoing movements, and her own reason for coming back up to Watchtower, despite it being her turn to play den mother to the team.

"I am aware of those facts." Batman nodded stiffly, his eyes still boring into Dinah. "Do you have it?"

Dinah sighed as she heard that, a sudden flash of guilt flooding her, even as she nodded. "We got lucky."

With that said she stuck her hand into the pocket of her jacket and carefully pulled out a glass vial, within which a bloodied cotton swab was contained.

"Percy Jackson's blood." Dinah said, for no other reason than to remind herself that she was technically backstabbing one of the teens under her care by betraying his trust and giving a sample of his blood to Batman.

Handing the vial over, Dinah couldn't help but feel vile herself. When Batman had suggested trying to get a blood sample she had initially agreed, her concern over his methods, and the way in which he had killed Black Spider having proved enough to justify her decision.

Now though, with a clearer head, she felt positively rotten. Riptide, or Percy, was a fellow hero. A powerful young man that selflessly put his life on the line for others. Yet here she was stealing a sample of his blood and delivering it to Batman.

Never before had she felt like such a villain.

"Thank you." Batman said after a moment, not even looking at her now as he instead inspected the blood, the minute gold flecks within it no doubt catching the sharp man's attention. "I will run a scan. Hopefully it was not contaminated. I take it you got the sample from the blood he spat onto the floor during the spar."

"Yes." Dinah nodded glumly.

"Don't feel guilty. I am not looking to hurt the boy. I just want to know what he is, and what he is capable of so I can make contingencies, for if/ or when he goes off the rails." Batman spoke up, his harsh voice softer now, as he attempted to assuage some of Black Canary's guilt.

It didn't work.

"Right, well, just don't involve me in any more of your plans. I feel dirty enough already." Dinah replied, biting her lip now, as she saw the vial vanish into Batman's cloak.

Had she really just done the right thing?

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what did you all think? I hope you enjoyed the chapter?**

 **Honestly thought I had hoped that this chapter would have allowed me to finished the Tower of Fate arc, but it ended up being longer than I thought. Still the chapter was important, it sets up the beginning of Percy's relationship with Diana. Which as you might have noticed is a little complicated.**

 **By the way I have decided to take some liberties with this earth's version of Diana/ Wonder Woman, as well as with the Greek Pantheon. It will be explained as the story progresses.**

 **On top of that this chapter allowed me to setup four different points of view/ perspectives for the next chapter. Three of which will be minor, but very important, character development/ plot wise, all the same. I am sure everyone can guess which three I am talking about.**

 **Plus the main pov for next chapter, Percy's, which will also be very important both plot wise/ character development wise as he ventures into the Tower of Fate. Suffice to say exciting times are ahead!**

 **Then finally is the last part of the chapter. Which is also very important, and I'm sure you can work out why.**

 **Other than that I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and leave a review.**

 **As an extra I would also like to recommend two different television series to watch if you're interested. Both of them show different perspectives of heroes and are very, very interesting. I recommend them both, either for casual viewing, or for writers who fancy writing a superhero story, they seem to be all the rage at the moment.**

 **Either way, one of the is a live action television series called 'The Boys', brilliant if somewhat brutal at times. I definitely recommend it as it has a very unique perspective of heroes.**

 **The next is an animated series called, 'Tiger and Bunny', this one has a whole other perspective of heroes, which is also very interesting and unique.**

 **Either way, those are my recommendations, I don't make many.**

 **Other than that I hope you review, and check out my other stories if you have the time!**

 **Thanks a lot for reading, see you later.**

 **Greed720.**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Hey all, so here is the next chapter I hope you all enjoy it. Also thanks for all the support so far, I really appreciate it, plus in answer to some of the reviews in the last chapter. Yes, I do know that the gods in the PJ verse don't have DNA. Haha. Still, thanks for the support and the interest, I do appreciate it.**

 **With that mind here is the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the DC verse.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"_ _Don't feel guilty. I am not looking to hurt the boy. I just want to know what he is, and what he is capable of so I can make contingencies, for if/ or when he goes off the rails." Batman spoke up, his harsh voice softer now, as he attempted to assuage some of Black Canary's guilt._

 _It didn't work._

 _"_ _Right, well, just don't involve me in any more of your plans. I feel dirty enough already." Dinah replied, biting her lip now, as she saw the vial vanish into Batman's cloak._

 _Had she really just done the right thing?_

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 15**

 **( - )**

 **(With Percy and the team)**

The Bio-ship stayed in its stealthy, camouflage mode as it silently landed on the outskirts of Salem. With it landing in the middle of a large, quiet, empty field. With the only indication of the ship's presence being the slight indentation in the long grass beneath it as it settled down, and a platform open up at the back, allowing its passengers to disembark.

Also immediately after the craft had landed, the team, consisting of Percy, Artemis, M'gann and Wally, all quickly descended the ramp and then spread out across the surrounding area. With Wally speeding off in a blur, and M'gann taking to the air, all of them searching the surrounding field as they tried to find the Tower of Fate, which, according to their coordinates should be right around where they had stopped.

Pausing mid-step as he made to cross the road that lay just adjacent to the park, a scowl slowly began to spread across Percy's face as he looked this way and that, looking in vain for any sign of this 'mystic' tower as he did so.

He knew they were in the right area, and that the tower should be somewhere close by. They had followed the coordinates they had been given to the letter after all, and Red Tornado didn't seem like the type of guy/ android, to make a mistake, or to mess about.

The Tower of Fate should be somewhere close!

As Percy looked around, the other members of his teams also joined him in his search, a frown furrowing all of their faces as they tried to find their objective.

Crossing back over the road, Percy began to slowly walk around the perimeter of the park at a leisurely pace, his head flicking this way and that as he tried to find some anomaly or some sign of the tower. They weren't in a rush or anything, but at the same time he didn't really care all that much for wasting his time wandering around some field in Salem.

Thinking about the man they were here to see, Percy's lips curved upwards into a smile as a thought occurred to him. Kent Nelson, or Doctor Fate as he was also known. He was supposed to be some kind of sorcerer, or at least that was what he had been told, and, working off of what he knew about magic, and what he had experienced of it thus far in his life. He knew for a fact that it was not only real, but also as tricky as all hell too. On top of that he knew that it could be used to hide something very big, very easily.

The 'Mist' an insanely powerful, illusion based magic which hid the Divine world from the mortal world was one very good example of this.

With that in mind Percy closed his eyes, spreading his senses out through the moisture in the air as he did so.

If the coordinates were right, then the tower should be right in front of him, and if it should be right in front of him, but not visible, then that meant that it was either; invisible, or being that it was being hidden by some kind of mystical illusion.

"Hey Percy, what're you doing?" Wally called out, as the red haired teen headed back to where the ship was, both M'gann and Artemis following after him. None of them having been successful in their search for the Tower of Fate.

"Concentrating." Percy replied softly, raising his hand and pulling on the divine energy that flowed through him, a slight tugging sensation forming in his gut as he did so.

In response to his actions the air around him began to visibly swirl, even as water rose up from the dewy grass, and was pulled out of nearby trees and shrubbery, the air all around the park shimmering now as the amount of water in the air rapidly increased, even as it began to shifting and flow through the air, all heading for the dark haired Demigod's stationary form.

"Err dude…?" Kid Flash pressed nervously, looking this way and that as he felt and saw what was going on all around him.

"Just leave him to it, Wally." Artemis shot back, folding her arms and waiting patiently for Percy to finish what he was doing. "I mean come on, it's Percy. He knows what he's doing."

"Yeah, but I just want to know what that is." Kid Flash shot back truculently.

"Patience." Percy spoke again, his other hand rising now, even as he spread the water he had gathered through the air and then began to condense it, even as he pulled in water from farther away. His range extending to two hundred metres in all directions, including up and down.

His Demigod powers were a form of magic, and from his experience magic tended to work on magic, or at least react with other magic.

Opening his eyes suddenly, Percy flicked his hands out and a wave of water filled air shot out from him like a shock wave, the water continuing on for a hundred metres all around him, save for in one spot where it splashed against a giant, invisible tower like object. The wave of watery air swirling all around it revealing its outline for just a few moments, before it flowed around and passed it. The structure vanishing from site once again, the moment the mystical water flowed passed it.

"It's invisible!" Wally cried out, seeing what all the others had seen as he did so.

"What do you think? Highly advanced micro-electric phase shifting technology?" Artemis suggested, looking sideways at Kid Flash as she did so, a slight smirk on her face as she saw the dumbstruck expression on his face.

Wally turned to look at Artemis in surprise as he heard that, his green eyes widening, no doubt because he didn't think that the blonde archer was tech savvy enough to come to the conclusion that she had. "Totally…"

Only for his eyes to then flick to the side when he saw M'gann walking passed him.

"Not! Clearly it is mystic powers at work," Wally then continued, changing his answer as he sent the disinterested Martian a smile, not missing Artemis's scowl, even as he turned to look at the other redhead, a smile spreading across his face for a moment, only for it to dim when the redhead walked passed him without even glancing at him, her attention instead on their stoic leader.

"It must be hidden under an illusion of some sort." M'gann mused, looking to Percy for confirmation.

"I think so, yeah. But it is only invisible, not intangible, or at least not when using magic." Percy replied, ignoring Wally's scoff as he instead released his control of the water around him. With him pausing long enough to catch his breath after the exertion that amount of control had required, after which he started walking towards where the building had been, pulling out the large, golden key that Red Tornado had given him as he did so.

"Did you see where the door was?" Artemis asked, watching Percy carefully as he withdrew the golden key, only for him to thrust it forwards suddenly.

A part of the golden key disappearing into some kind of invisible hole, but only for a moment, before, with a single turn to the right and an unlocking sound, the Tower of Fate suddenly materialized in front of the team.

"Yes," Percy finally said, stowing the key back in the pocket of his tan coloured coat, even as he looked up at the colossal, ancient looking stone tower that was now sitting solidly, and clearly visible, in front of him. "My water flowed all around the base of the tower, into every crack and crevice. It's not perfect, but it did give me a, I don't know, I suppose you could call it a mental picture, of what it looked like."

"Sweet," Artemis muttered, following Percy into the tower as he stepped through the now open doors, both M'gann and Kid Flash following after him.

 **( - )**

 **(Not too far away)**

As the team entered the tower, not that far away in a nearby tree line, the air shimmered, only for it to reveal a tied up Kent Nelson and two other individuals. One of whom looked to be a pale skinned, gothic looking teenaged boy, who oddly enough was holding a red eyed, orange furred cat in his hands.

"How interesting." The boy mused, in a cold, high pitched voice, his beady black eyes narrowing as he watched the small group of heroes enter the tower.

"Interesting, Klarion?" The other man, Abra Kadabra, asked, the other wizard keeping his foot on the bound Kent Nelson as he did so, his wand held tightly in his hands as he looked up at the now revealed Tower of Fate.

"Yes, interesting. That boy, he is Perseus Jackson." Klarion replied, his voice holding a slightly whiny note to it, so much so that just the sound of it made Abra have to hide a wince of annoyance.

"And?" Abra asked calmly, flicking his wand at Kent and causing him to hover in the air, even as the two mages were swallowed up by a red portal, only to then reappear soundlessly at the entrance to the Tower of Fate.

"He's not human, or at least barely human." Klarion clarified, his beady black eyes gleaming with fascination as he and his minion walked up the steps of the tower, before using magic to force the closed, but unlocked door open. "He has the stench of the Divine about him."

"A Demigod?" Abra muttered, his brow furrowing in consternation as he came to the basic conclusion of what a human with divinity in him could be, even as he hid his awe at the Lord of Chaos' strength as he forcibly opened the doors to the now revealed tower.

"Maybe, but also maybe something more…, something new… something unique" Klarion muttered, his face twisted up into a look of hunger. "I'll be very interested to find out when we catch up to them. I can't wait to rip him to pieces and see what makes him tick…"

Behind him Abra shivered as he heard the other man's words, and his tone of voice. Klarion the Witchboy may act like a whiny, childish, petulant buffoon, but that was all it was, an act. He was a Lord of Chaos, a creature roe alien to humans than even actual aliens. Things like human emotions, inhibitions and morality, they meant nothing to him.

In fact Abra knew without a shadow of a doubt that Klarion was so bereft of emotion, that he wouldn't care if the entire world was consumed in fire and destroyed. In fact the only thing he might care about was that he was losing some of his toys- his playthings. But even that concern would be fleeting, after all Klarion was a higher being, he had multiple world and existences to play around in.

 **( - )**

 **(With Percy and the team)**

Almost immediately after the team entered the Tower of Fate the doors behind them swung shut with a loud bang! Only for them to then completely vanish from sight the instant they did so, leaving nothing but a blank stretch of wall where they had once been.

"Hey where did the door go?" Kid Flash shouted, darting back to the now blank stretch of wall, desperately feeling around the wall as he did so. Searching for where the door was, and hoping against hope as he scrabbled at the plain looking stone wall, that the doors were just invisible, or were being hidden by an 'illusion'.

Unfortunately though the stone wall seemed to just be that, a stone wall.

"Where's it gone? It's not here!" Wally cried out nervously.

"Magic." Artemis shrugged, a slight smirk playing around her mouth now.

"This isn't a joke!" Wally shot back nervously.

Artemis's smile widened at this, however before she could say any more, a holographic image of Kent Nelson appeared in front of the team, distracting all four of them from their current issue, or at least Wally, who was the only one of the four that was freaking out.

"You have entered with a key, but the Tower doesn't recognise you. Please state your reason for visiting?" The image of Nelson said bluntly, his tone slightly frail but still holding a distinct not of firmness to it when he demanded that they reveal their reason for being here.

Silence followed this statement, as the four looked at one another. Wally visibly relaxing a bit now that he realised that this wasn't a trap, and that they weren't in any imminent danger.

With the speedster relaxing enough to regain some of his former bluster, as before the others could say anything Wally stepped forward, and once again, desperately, tried to impress M'gann. "We are _true_ believers come here to seek out Doctor Fate!"

"Fuck's sake Wally…" Percy muttered, even as M'gann rolled her eyes and Artemis groaned in irritation.

Kent Nelson's image however merely smiled in amusement, before vanishing.

After which, only moments later, the ground underneath the team broke away to reveal an empty cavern below them, down which they all suddenly fell, all four of them momentarily hurtling down towards the bottom of the cavern. Which even from here they could tell and feel was just a pool of bubbling magma, something capable of burning them to death in an instant.

"M'gann!" Percy shouted, with Martian reading his thoughts in an instant, the Martian taking to the air even as she used her Telekinesis to latch onto Wally, Percy and Artemis.

Though only for a moment, as seconds later Artemis drew a handheld crossbow from her hip and fired it at the cavern wall. The arrow embedding into the wall and locking in place as M'gann caught onto her actions and slowly released her grip, allowing the green themed archer to land feet first on the cavern wall, easily held in place by her arrow and the metallic rope leading off of it and back to Artemis's crossbow.

Percy meanwhile, in an effort to lighten her load, pulled out his sword and with a controlled blast of vibrational energy from one hand projected himself across the gap, only for him to then drive his sword into the cavern wall with a single lance like thrust, locking himself in place too, even as he looked down at the bubbling magma below.

"You alright M'gann?" Percy asked, noticing as he did so the sweat beading M'gann forehead as she moved Wally over to where Artemis was hanging, the archer nodding as she noticed the Martian's actions even as she grabbed a hold of the struggling speedster and held him up.

"Fine," M'gann replied, floating over to Percy as she did so. With him reaching out and catching her as she began to lose height, pulling her body close to his as he remained latched to the wall. "Extreme heat and fire, it is a Martian's greatest weakness."

"Ah, shit." Percy nodded, pulling her in closer as he once again looked down at the bubbling lava below them.

"Great job Wally." Artemis muttered as she heard what M'gann said.

"What? How is this my fault?" Wally shot back, clutching on tightly to Artemis, even as she pulled out a dagger and lodged it into a slight crack in the wall for extra support.

"Enough, let's just focus on the problem at hand, and the issue of getting out of this mess!" Percy bit out, his voice sharp, even as he began to run through his options.

Before he could do anything however, M'gann spoke up.

"Hello Megan!" M'gann said, slapping the side of her head with her hand. "We never truly answered the question."

Percy cocked an eyebrow at that. Would something as simple as that really work?

"We have come here on a mission from Red Tornado… we're here to find Kent Nelson and the Helmet of Fate." M'gann called out, before anyone could say anything else, taking the initiative when she saw that none of the others seemed to have any immediate ideas.

In response to her words a platform suddenly formed over the magma, cutting off all the heat in an instant.

Seeing this Percy released his hold on M'gann allowing her to take to the air again as the air rapidly cooled, even as he leapt down and landed on the platform with a loud thump.

It made sense in his mind that he would be the first to test the waters, so to speak. With his minor heat resistance he wouldn't be killed instantly by the lava if this all turned out to be a ruse. In fact he should be able to last about thirty seconds or if he fell in the lava before it became too much and he would need to get out in order to avoid death. More than enough time to test out the platform, and hop out again if needed.

Luckily however it was not needed, and he did not need to put his heat resistance to the test.

"It's fine!" Percy called up to the others a few moments later, looking up and watching the other three rapidly descend using M'gann's Telekinesis as he did so.

"This is weird, the platform should be hot, but feel it, it is cool to the touch." Artemis muttered, her brow furrowing as she knelt down and gingerly touched the metal beneath her with her bare fingers.

Wally ignoring this, and instead sidled over to M'gann. "Great thinking back there Megalicious."

"Enough!" Artemis suddenly snapped, in a tone reminiscent of their leader's favourite way of commanding silence and order. The blonde archer placing a hand on Wally's chest and slamming him forcibly up against the cavern wall, even as she got into his face again. "This impress Megan at all costs thing you've got going on, it needs to stop!"

"What I do is none of your business!" Wally snapped back, his brow furrowing now.

"It is when you almost get us all fried! Lying about being a _true_ believer." Artemis retorted fiercely.

Percy rolled his eyes as he heard the two of them argue, seriously these two bickered more than he and Annabeth did back in the day. The two of them just needed to fuck and get it over with. It had worked for him and his long since deceased girlfriend after all.

A twinge of pain lanced through Percy's chest at that thought. It had been well over a hundred years and her loss, and the guilt he had felt over it had long since stopped hurting. But still, he shouldn't be so casual when thinking about her.

Gritting his teeth, Percy forced his thoughts of his long since dead lover out of his mind, and instead back on the matter at hand, even as Wally and Artemis continued to bicker. He would not say anything, instead he would just let things play out.

The two of them needed to clear the air ether way, after all those two were the only members of the team that didn't, if not like one another, at least get along. Anything else that came from that would be up to them. He just hoped their future romance was not as doomed as all of his own had been.

A few moments later the red haired speedster pushed off the wall and got into Artemis's face. "Well I'm sorry if you are all caught up in this bullshit, but I don't believe! Magic is the true lie. It is all a bunch of smoke and mirrors. Everything can be explained through science!"

Percy frowned at that, maybe letting them continue to argue was not productive. Or at least not while they were on a mission. Plus, the whole magic not being real thing, that Wally was on at the moment. That was something that should be nipped in the bud sooner rather than later, especially with how many magic using foes the League have, and how many magic using villains there were out there in the world.

"Wally…," Percy said patiently, raising one hand even as he focused on releasing lightning from his hand. His control over Electrokinesis may be considerably weaker than his control over water and earth, but it was a damn sight flashier than the other elements.

"That's not magic, that's just a super power" Wally shot back at Percy, a scowl on his. "All that can be explained through science."

Percy cocked an eyebrow at that. "I was born with my abilities, just like a lot of other magic users are. So yeah, I can tell you right now; I am not a mutant or a Metahuman, nor am I an alien or an Amazon or an Atlantean. My powers are based on a form of magic, and are a part of; not just my body, but my soul!"

"Bullshit!" Wally replied with a scowl.

Artemis scowled as she heard him instantly dismiss Percy's words, "You know you are pretty close minded for a guy who can break the sound barrier in his sneakers."

"Again! That is science. I recreated Flash's laboratory experiment and voila here I am," Wally retorted, his tone tinged with frustration now.

"Right enough." Percy spoke out, his voice sharp as both teens instantly went silent and looked at him. "Before, I'll admit I let you argue as I wanted you to work out your issues, but obviously that is not going to happen, not here and now anyway. Despite that though, Wally, I am telling you here and now that magic is real! As are gods and cosmic beings! They are real, deal with it!"

Wally opened his mouth to object, only for Percy to cut him off.

"And as proof," Percy continued, kneeling down and grabbing the panel beneath them as he did so.

"Wait, the backdraft from the lava will roast us alive!" Wally shouted, reaching out to stop Percy, only for him to continue lifting the panel and opening it fully.

The moment he did so, instead of a backdraft of heat like Wally had warned of, there was instead a cold breeze followed by a few flakes of snow hitting the team.

"It is snow," M'gann muttered, a slight smile on her face.

"Do you ever get tired of being wrong?" Artemis smirked, looking sideways at Wally.

Percy though kept his mouth shut, and instead just leapt through the hole, the rest of the team following after him one by one, only for them all to end up in a brand new place, one that is completely covered in snow. With their being snow in every direction as far as the eye can see.

Seeing this Artemis sent a cocky smirk at Wally.

In response to which Wally scowled, before he shrugged and attempted to explain the situation with his sicence. "Ever heard of string theory? This is a pocket dimension."

Artemis rolled her eyes.

Percy however paused, his mind racing as he suddenly began to think of the possibilities of magic and how, once he found a talented mage to help him, he could use it to his advantage. He may have no real talent for other forms of magic, those that weren't related to his Demigod abilities. He had tried to learn in Tartarus, but to no avail. But that didn't mean he that he couldn't find and work with some neutral or League mages.

Turning back to the hole that they had just jumped through, Percy watched silently as the hole between the two places closed up a moment later, leaving them trapped in this new snowy realm. As he watched this, a slight tingle of worry passed through him as he then turned and looked around.

He had already been displaced one, he didn't want it to happen again, not after he had finally settled into this new world.

"Hey, what is that?" M'gann suddenly spoke up, pointing straight ahead of them.

Following her gaze, Percy, quickly noticed the black cane with a golden handle hovering in the air some ten or so feet in front of them.

How had he not noticed that before?

"Ooo maybe it is Nelson's wand," Wally spoke up sarcastically.

Artemis though ignored him, as she instead ran forward and reached out to grab the cane.

Before she could however Wally sped forward too.

"Wait!" Percy called out, calling on his powers as he tried to stop them. Grabbing onto a Symbol of Power, or a wizards wand, or whatever that cane was, in his mind, it didn't seem like an especially smart idea.

As he called out though, the snow around him exploding forward, the two teens reached the cane both of them grabbing onto it at the exact same time.

"I got it," Artemis and Wally both said at exactly the same time, only for them to then struggle with one another. "I can't let go."

After which, seemingly in response to their words the cane lifted the two struggling teens into the air, only to then, in a burst of magic, vanish along with the two that were gripping onto it.

"Idiots." Percy cursed, shaking his head as the duo disappeared. "Maybe I should have made them hash out their problems back in the cavern."

M'gann, from beside Percy just looked to him, not too worried about the fate of their teammates, after all Kent Nelson was supposed to be their ally. "Hey Percy, do you think Wally will believe in magic after that?"

"Wally uses science to understand things that are out of his control. To admit that magic exists would be to let go of that control. Give him time and I am sure he will come around eventually," Percy replied after a few moments, he didn't know much about science, but he did know that, despite what Wally said, it didn't have an answer for everything. After all just look at him, he was a Demigod, he would be impressed if science could explain his existence.

"I hope so," M'gann muttered, only to be distracted as she saw Percy suddenly point straight ahead. Her hazel eyes shifting over to look at what he was pointing at, only for her to see that, on top of one of the snow banks, there was a doorway.

"Come on, let's head there." Percy muttered, leading the way, with M'gann following after him as he headed for the doorway. "Hn, I didn't see this mission becoming so troublesome. It makes me wonder what everyone else is doing with their day off?"

 **( - )**

 **(With Kaldur in Atlantis)**

Swimming through the coral hallways of the underwater citadel, Kaldur, couldn't help but scowl to himself as he swam towards his destination.

His visit to Atlantis, his home, was not like he had expected it would be.

When he first arrived back at the underwater city, he had genuinely been in two minds about whether or not he wanted to stay here permanently, or go back to Mount Justice and the team.

A part of him, the homesick part of him, had long been considering returning to his home in, Posidenous, in order to finish his magical training at the institute, especially after seeing what his team leader, the mysterious Perseus Jackson was capable of.

Another part of him however wanted to remain with the team, after all was it not always said that experience was the true teacher? Plus he had settled into the team well, built up bonds with all of the members, and was honing his craft in battle and through training. He was actually happy there, and loved what he was doing. Did he really want to give that up?

Still, despite this when he had arrived back in the city of his birth just hours previously, he had still been conflicted about whether to stay here or go back.

Though admittedly most of that conflict had been due to his desire to return home, in order to be with, Tula, the girl he loved.

Far more so in fact than it was to continue his learning at the academy. After all looking at it objectively once he arrived back in Atlantis, he had found that he was content with the experience he was gaining on the team thus far, plus he had found an untapped resource in the form of Percy. From whom he hoped might be able to get a bit of training in using water magic, once he had found a way to convince him to help him out of course.

Still, as he had found out only hours after his return, it was too late as far as him and Tula went. The beautiful redhead had already coupled up with their best friend, the last member of their trio, Garth.

Garth, the same person that his king had once thought also worthy of taking on the title of Aqualad.

Only when Garth was offered the chance alongside Kaldur, he had politely rejected the offer. Instead the other teen had wanted to remain in Atlantis and hone his control over magic at the academy, just like Tula had chosen to do. The both of them having become disciples/ apprentices of the kingdom's greatest sorceress, possibly one of the world's greatest sorceresses, or at least in terms of water based magic, Queen Mera.

Kaldur paused at that thought.

Mera, Aquaman's beautiful Queen. She was without a doubt powerful, in fact her control over the sea and water in general was probably beyond Aquaman's own, even if her strength and physical power paled in comparison to her husbands.

But still, despite that, was she truly the strongest in the world?

As he had told his friends, and Mera herself, when he had first returned. There existed another powerful water user, Perseus Jackson. A being whose origins and abilities befuddled the three of them, just as he had Kaldur and his king, Aquaman. A being whose control over water was so fine, and whose power was so considerable, that he might even be stronger than Queen Mera herself.

His mere existence and the power he possessed had certainly caught both Mera and Tula's interest, even despite Aquaman's less than stellar opinion of him.

Apparently the King of Atlantis, when he had returned home after meeting Perseus for the first time, had been quite vocal about Perseus's lack of respect, and all round attitude.

No that her husband's words seemed to bother Mera, in fact the Queen seemed more interested in Percy because of her husband's slight animosity towards him, than she would have been otherwise, especially after Kaldur had told them all he knew about his powers and what he had guessed of his origins.

Before Kaldur could dwell any more on his thoughts, he was distracted by a familiar voice calling out to him.

"Kaldur!" Garth suddenly called out, the tall, dark haired teen swimming over to him, even as he emerged from the corridor and began to enter the academy.

"Garth," Kaldur nodded. His visit home had been brief, but it had been good all the same, and despite what he had found out only hours previously, Kaldur held no ill feelings for his friend.

"I thought you were heading off?" Garth asked, floating in the water just in front of Kaldur, even as Mera and Tula swam out of the academy and approached them, the two redheaded, ethereal beauties, catching both Kaldur and Garth's attention as they swam over.

"My Queen,… Tula." Kaldur bowed, his tone slightly more strained when he said Tula's name than when he addressed the Queen.

He might have decided to be the bigger man and respect their choice to pursue a relationship, but that didn't mean he was anywhere close to being over her, or at least not yet.

"Kaldur you came," Mera smiled, her full lips parting to reveal a flash of her white teeth as she glided through the water towards him, her gossamer dress floating eerily along behind her, along with her waist length red hair, her golden crown glinting slightly in the light cast from nearby underwater lanterns.

"As you commanded, my Queen." Kaldur replied respectfully, meeting her lovely green eyes with his own as he did so.

As he did so he couldn't help but notice that her eyes were sea green, very, almost eerily similar to the colour of Percy's eyes.

"Please Kaldur, there is no need to stand on ceremony." Mera replied gently, her smile softening even as she gestured Tula over to her.

The lithe young red head, oddly enough carrying a large satchel on her back, and wearing, not her tight yellow and green shorts, and cropped shirt like she was wearing before when he first saw her in the midst of training.

But instead she was wearing a bronze coloured, tightly fitting, scaled suit that covered her legs, and chest, but kept her arms, hands and feet bare. On top of which she wore; a pair of glinting, green, scaled bracers on her forearms, similar coloured greaves on her shins, and a finally a bronze coloured, crown like helmet that covered her head, but which left her face open.

It was a set of custom Atlantean armour, similar to that which was worn by the Royal Guard, but with less armour on the shoulders and chest, and noticeably lighter, and more streamline. It was a set of armour that was clearly crafted for speed and manoeuvrability, sacrificing some protection to allow for increased swiftness and agility.

"Tula?" Kaldur asked, his brow furrowing as Tula sent him a smile, her lips curling upwards. The sight of the smile making him flush pink.

He might have accepted that they would never be together, but his feelings for her had not diminished in the slightest, a part of him doubted that they ever would.

"Tula what are you wearing?" Garth tagged on, his own brow furrowing in confusion as he floated closer to his girlfriend.

"My costume," Tula replied, her voice as melodic as ever, even as she let out a slight laugh, no doubt at the confused expressions on both his and Garth's faces.

"I had my personal tailors make the adjustments." Mera added on, her own amusement evident, both in her voice and on her face.

"I, I don't understand?" Kaldur muttered, looking from the grinning Tula to the smirking Mera. "What is happening?"

"Yeah, I don't get it either?" Garth tagged on, a completely flummoxed look on his own face.

"I'm sorry Garth, I know I should have talked with you. But this all happened so quickly, I spoke to Queen Mera and with her permission and help I've spent the last few hours getting ready!" Tula replied, her smile diming slightly.

"Getting prepared for what?" Garth asked, a look of hurt on his face now as Tula swam over to him and took his hands in her own.

"I'm going to the surface with Kaldur, Garth. Queen Mera has agreed to talk to the King about it. I'm going to join the team." Tula said simply, her smile fading as she gripped Garth's hands tighter.

"W-what does this mean? W-why?" Garth asked, echoing Kaldur's own thoughts as he gazed lost into his girlfriend's eyes.

"We're still together, it means nothing for our relationship." Tula hurriedly assured Garth, even as Mera silently floated behind her supportively. "But I want to do this. I have pushed my training here in Atlantis as far as I feel that I can. Now I want to start gaining experience of actually putting it into practice, like Kaldur has."

Kaldur nodded at that, still confused and taken aback by what was happening, but agreeing in principle with the point she was trying to make.

"I also need space to grow and become my own person." Tula added on when she saw Garth open his mouth to speak. "My feelings for you haven't changed. But I saw the way Kaldur has changed since being on the surface, and realised that although he has changed and grown as a person, I haven't, not really."

"Is this because of us? Have things been moving too fast?" Garth asked worriedly, clutching onto Tula's hands like a life line. His tone and the emotion in his voice, were making Kaldur feel uncomfortable. It made him feel like he was a voyeur, looking in on a conversation he really shouldn't be privy too.

"No, I care for you, Garth, and I am happy that we are together." Tula pressed reassuringly. "I know it's selfish, but I want to do this, for me. I want to fight villains, and meet this Perseus and see whether what Kaldur said is true, and if it is I want to learn from him. You know my dream, Garth, I want to be the strongest water mage in the world, stronger even than Queen Mera!"

Mera smiled as she heard that, her lips curving up in amusement as Tula bluntly declared her dream to one day surpass her.

"I know that, but still!" Garth complained.

"Please Garth, I know this will be difficult, and it might put a strain on things, but I want to do it!" Tula pressed, leaning forwards and placing a light kiss on Garth's cheek as she did so.

Kaldur looked away at this, a surge of jealously rising up within him.

"Ok," Garth said after a few moments. "Ok."

Tula's smile upon hearing his acceptance was truly beautiful.

"Are you okay with this Kaldur?" Mera then asked, drawing attention back to Kaldur, even as Tula looked away from Garth and over to him.

"Yes, fine," Kaldur nodded, not sure else what he could say. He loved Tula and wanted her to be with him, and he couldn't deny his Queen when she asked something of him. At the same time though a part of him sank at the realisation that he would be so close to Tula, but that they would still not be together. She had made her commitment to remain with Garth quite clear just now.

"And the rest of your team?" Mera pressed, "I know my husband is confident that he can sort this out with Batman and the others, but would your team accept, Tula, joining them?"

"I don't see why not, they are a good group, and Perseus, despite being a bit… abrasive at times, is a good man. They will be fine with it." Kaldur nodded, thinking on what the others would say as he did so.

Already he was dreading what Wally and Robin would say. They were his oldest friends and knew of his feelings. On top of which they were both childish, and would remorselessly tease him.

He was already regretting not denying Tula here and now.

Looking up at the delighted expression Tula's face, and the smile on Mera's, though, that sudden thought fled him.

It was pointless, he would never have been able to deny either Mera or Tula, even if he had wanted too.

"Great, then let's head up to the surface! I've always wanted to know what it is like living up there!" Tula smiled, releasing Garth's hands as she instead floated over to him.

'Urgh, I wonder how every else's day off has gone?' Kaldur thought to himself, even as he found himself smiling in spite of himself, in response to Tula's excited grin.

 **( - )**

 **(With Robin)**

"Wow I'm impressed, you're pretty good for a newbie!" Robin called out, a grin on his face as he swung off of a tall building, released his grapple and landed with a flip, silently, on another building, his gaze shifting to watch the red haired, blue eyed girl with him do the same.

The girl in question was two years old than him, and noticeably taller than him too, with distinct curves to her body that leant her form a maturity that he knew he his body lacked. Barbara Gordon at fifteen looked like a woman on the cusp of entering her prime. Robin meanwhile at thirteen, still looked like just a boy, a fit and athletic boy, but a child all the same.

It was annoying.

Still though Barbara had impressed him quite a lot so far, even with her only having been taught the basics by Batman, and given a rudimentary course in hand to hand fighting and using the many gadgets that were available to them.

The girl was a quick study.

No doubt she had her background in competitive gymnastics to thank for that, just as Robin had his own gymnastics background to thank for why he, despite his age, had managed to become so good.

On top of that the redhead sure looked the part too. Wearing a black cowl, and black body suit, with a distinctive yellow utility belt, and the symbol of the Batman on her chest, she definitely suited the superhero name she had chosen, Batgirl. It might be a direct rip-off of Batman's whole thing, but she still pulled it off.

Robin's lips twitched upwards at that thought. Not everyone could be like him and forge their own path, just look at Kid Flash and Aqualad, both of them were like Batgirl, and were clearly just copying off of their mentors.

Robin chuckled to himself as he remembered the two older teen's expressions when he had teased them about their choice of superhero names.

It was pretty funny at the time.

That said it did make him wonder, what if he had called himself; Batboy, of Kid Bat, or Batlad?

Honestly, he was pretty sure he would have died from shame and embarrassment if he had.

Luckily though he was not like the others. He had truly gone his own way, and started forging his own path as a hero, as Robin.

"Thanks," Barbara replied as she landed next to him, not even stumbling as they both landed in a similar crouched positon on the side of the building, the two of them now overlooking a dark, dingy alleyway below. "You're not too bad either, for a kid."

Barbara grinned as she said that, her smile obvious as her cowl only hid the upper portion of her face, leaving the lower part open.

Robin, in response, merely rolled his eyes at her words "You shouldn't underestimate me just because I'm young, newbie."

In the past Robin might have blown up at Barbara for talking down to him like that, or for making a joke about him not being competent due to his age.

Nowadays however he just shrugged off the remark, and let it pass for what it was, a joke, a bit of banter.

He had received far worse from his teammates, on top of which he had seen just where he stacked up with the best heroes of his generation. He had nothing to be ashamed of, and certainly didn't need to get all defensive about some off the cuff remark from a newbie.

"Easy there tiger," Barb laughed, standing up from her crouched position, her black cape whipping about behind her.

"Keep your mind in the here and now, a moment's inattention out on the streets could prove to be deadly." Robin replied quickly, his eyes narrowing as he too stood up and surveyed their surroundings. Noticeably he was about six inches shorter than the older girl.

"No need to be so serious, this is just a training run isn't it?" Barb shot back easily.

"Banter between team members is fine, but you shouldn't let it distract you. This might be a training run, but this is also Gotham. The city is filled with crime and criminals, even on a good night there are probably dozens of crimes being committed as we speak." Robin replied.

He joked around with the others, and knew that a bit of banter between teammates was good. At the same time though he also knew how dangerous the streets of Gotham could be, and as such he wanted to impress onto Barbara, just how dangerous things were for a cape when on patrol.

She might be a lifelong citizen of Gotham, after all he already knew that she was Police Commissioner Gordon's daughter, but that didn't mean that she was fully aware of just how dangerous the streets were, especially when you were deliberately getting involved and trying to stop crime as it happened.

Before Barbara could reply the sound of shouting and cursing quickly issued forth from a nearby alleyway, the sound soon being followed by the crack of gun fire, and the sound of screaming and shouting.

"Come on, I'll take the lead, you act as my support!" Robin said instantly, turning on his heel and sprinting across the rooftop, Batgirl already on his tail as the two of them reacted to the outbreak of fighting in an instant.

Pulling out his grapple gun Robin leapt off of the building and shot his grabble over at a nearby building, even as he swung down into the alley below. His movements swift and silent as he swooped down from the rooftops like an overgrown bat.

Moments later he collided feet first with an armed gun man, his reinforced boots smacking into the gun man's skull with a dull crack, even as he released his grabble and flipped, his extendable pole already in hand as he brought it down on another gun wielding man's head. The force of the blow knocking him down, even as Robin rolled and spun, tripping two other thugs over as he did so.

Following this up Batgirl arrived, a pair of black metal tonfa in her hands as she spun down and smacked down two more thugs. With her then following this up with a brutal flurry of head and body shots, until the two went down, and stayed down groaning and moaning in pain. "You alright?"

"Don't get distracted!" Robin replied, throwing out two bird-a-rangs, forcing another thug to lift his arms to protect his face, his actions leaving him open for a strong, brutal blow to his ribs from Robin's staff.

"I'm not," Barb grinned, twirling her tonfa in hand as she smacked the last of the group around, landing five blows on the guy before a final one to the side of the head took him down.

"Looks like a gang shootout." Robin said, ignoring Batgirl's last words now as he instead pulled some black zip ties from his belt and began disarming and tying up the thugs. Ignoring the different gang colours they wore as he instead tied them to on another regardless of allegiance. "So no victims. That said keep an eye out for more, Batgirl."

"On it," Batgirl nodded, twirling her tonfa again, as she began surveying the surrounding, grimy alleyway. "So is this what it is usually like?"

"Most of the time," Robin nodded. "Thugs like these are easy to take down, they're untrained and unprepared. They are dangerous in large numbers, but for the most part they rely on fear and intimidation, not skill, to rule their patches. It only becomes troublesome when they have powers. Trust me, it's never this easy when you're against powered individuals, when you fight them, you need to fight smart."

Barbara nodded at that. "So do you have a lot of experience fighting against powered people?"

"Some, I've getting more and more since I joined the team though; both fighting villains and training with my teammates." Robin nodded, finishing up what he was doing, before he stood up and began to gather up his gear.

"So do you like it then, you know being on your junior Justice League team?" Barbara asked, her question genuine, even if she couldn't help but tease the young teen at the same time.

Ignoring the provocation, Robin instead just twirled his staff in his hand and then retracted it in a single fluid move. "Joining the team, it was the best decision I ever made."

Thinking of the team now, he couldn't help but wonder how the rest of them were spending their day?

 **( - )**

 **(With Superboy)**

With a loud grunt Superboy twisted his entire body and flung his arm out, the manhole cover he was holding hurtling through the air like a bullet, only for it to smash into the chest of a giant, red-haired woman, the force of the blow nearly knocking the villainess, Giganta, off of her feet.

"You little brat!" The giant, hundred foot tall woman roared, even as she reached out and tried to swipe at him with her massive hand.

"Good shot, Superboy!" Wonder Woman called out, even as the dark haired woman swooped down and wrapped her golden lasso around Giganta's legs, using the opportunity Superboy's distraction had created to do so.

"Thanks!" Superboy shouted, dodging back as Giganta's massive hand mauled the tarmac road in front of him, her monstrous strength tearing anything that got in her way to pieces as she tried to grab at him.

Dancing back a few more steps, Superboy then turned ripped a bollard from the nearby pavement, his eyes narrowing as he took aim and hurled it like a shot but, right at the woman's head.

His actions causing Giganta to let out another roar of frustration, even as she reared back to avoid the projectile before it struck in her in the face.

Seeing this Wonder Woman grabbed her lasso and pulled it with all her considerable might, pulling Giganta's legs out from under her and sending her falling to the floor as she did so.

"Finish her Superboy!" Wonder Woman called, her fierce blue eyes locking with Superboy's for a moment.

Seeing the gaze and hearing the order, Superboy leapt off of the road, the asphalt cracking beneath him as he leapt nearly thirty feet in the air, his fist reared back as he used the technique Black Canary had beaten into his head, to land a single, massive superpowered punch into the giant woman's face.

"Ah!" Giganta bellowed, twisting to the side now as her fall was interrupted by thunderous brain shaking blow to the side of her head.

As she fell the giant woman began to rapidly diminish in size, but not before her body had already smashed into the front of an apartment block, blowing out the wall of one of the apartments.

"My baby!" A loud voice screamed out almost hysterically a few moments later.

Looking up Superboy caught sight of a child of about five, even as he clung onto the remains of his apartment wall, his mother visibly trying to get to him, despite the bloody cut on her forehead.

"Superboy, save the child!" Wonder Woman shouted, even as she shot down to neutralise the villainess before she could recover.

"On it!" Superboy shouted, leaping up with a single super powered bound. His body hurtling through the air as he clearly nearly thirty feet, his aim on point as he crashed into the wall just below the struggling kid.

"Caleb!" The mother screamed, almost falling from the wreckage of her apartment as she desperately tried to get to her child.

"He's fine!" Superboy called, clambering up and grabbing the kid, before he then continued up and into the apartment, the young kid safe and sound in his arms. "He's safe."

"My baby, my sweet Caleb! " The woman cried, taking the crying child from Superboy immediately and cradling him to her body.

"Superboy, Giganta, has been incapacitated and the authorities are almost here." Wonder Woman called out, flying up and touching down softly in the room, her blue eyes assessing the damaged wall, and shattered window.

The damage to the apartment was an unforeseen accident, and something that she had tried to avoid. Unfortunately though, when dealing with a foe like Giganta, and in a populated place too, collateral damage sometimes happened.

"Madam, are you and your child alright? Do either of you need any medical assistance?" Wonder Woman then asked, turning to the reunited mother and son as she did so.

"N-no, I think we're okay." The mother replied, stilling clutching her shell-shocked son to her. Her eyes were still visibly filled with tears even as she turned to look at Superboy. "Y-you saved him! If you hadn't been here, t-that monster w-would have killed him, killed us all!"

Superboy could only blink in surprise as he heard that. This day was not going how he thought it would go.

Originally he had left Mount Justice with Wonder Woman, the two of them heading over to Metropolis, where Superman was, and where Wonder Woman had agreed to sort out a meeting between the two of them.

Unfortunately however they had not had the chance to even meet with Superman yet.

Pretty much the moment they had arrived in Metropolis, they had been wrapped up in stopping an attempted heist by the villain, Giganta.

The villainess in question having broken into a laboratory, in her human form, only to be caught by the alarms, which had then led to her assuming her giant form in order to escape.

That had been half an hour ago, and they had only just managed to stop her between the two of them, a job made all the harder by the fact that they were in the middle of a city, and had to fight smart instead of going all out and engaging her in a straight up fight.

"I-It's fine," Superboy said uncertainly, looking away from the woman now, and instead meeting the wonder filled eyes of the shaken, but visibly recovering child.

"Thank you mister!" The child chirped up from within his mother's protective grasp.

"No problem…" Superboy replied, before uncertainly looking at the mother.

"Caleb, his name is Caleb." The woman replied, a teary smile now on her face as she held her son close.

"It's no problem, Caleb, I'm just glad you're safe." Superboy nodded, with Wonder Woman giving him a nod of approval as he did so.

 **( - )**

 **(Sometime later)**

"You did a good job back there," Wonder Woman said as the two of them stood on the rooftop of a nearby building a few minutes later, the two of them watching as Giganta was taken into custody and the authorities began to swarm the streets below. The mother and child from before noticeably now being looked after by paramedics.

"Thanks, Wonder Woman." Superboy nodded.

"Please, just call me Diana." Diana replied with a slight smile, glancing sideways at the younger boy as she did so. "Which reminds me, what should I call you? You can't go around being called Superboy all the time, not when you're heading to school in a month or so."

"I don't have a name, and I've not been registered for the school yet." Superboy replied, his tone somewhat glum as he looked away from the beautiful raven haired woman.

"Well that won't do, everyone needs a name." Diana said, a thoughtful look on her face. "So what would you like to be called?"

"I'm not sure?" Superboy replied with a shrug. "What do you think?"

Diana smiled slightly at that, her head tilting to the side and her blue eyes twinkling. "What about Caleb, the name of that child you saved. Caleb… hmm let's say, Kent, Caleb Kent? What do you think?"

Superboy blinked in surprise at that, his mouth opening for a moment, before he closed it, a slight smile spreading across his face as he looked back down at the busy street below. "Caleb Kent, I like it."

 **( - )**

 **(Elsewhere)**

Opening her bright, glowing violet eyes, a slight smiled played across the beautiful, dark haired woman's face.

A confrontation was about to happen, a showdown between a Son of the Sea, a Lord of Order and a Lord of Chaos.

She couldn't interfere in what was about to happen, nor would she even if she could.

No, all she could do for now was watch and wait.

Soon enough the confrontation would happen, and one of the beings involved would be victorious.

Personally, she already knew who she wanted to win.

Perseus Jackson. He was such an interesting being, one as far from human as she and her fellows were.

Unlike them though, he was a being of the old world, not the new. Or at least for now. In the future however, that was another thing.

Already in her dreams, she had seen what he may one day become.

Percy Jackson, he had the potential to be like one of them, even if he would never be one of them, or at least in the technical sense.

Despite that though the fact remained that he had the potential to become like them, and she for one was fascinated by him and would love to see whether he may indeed, one day, become a 'New God'.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what do you all think, I hope you enjoyed it? I will admit this chapter was a pretty difficult one to write, I reckon if I had wanted I could have stretched Kaldurs, Robins and Superboys points of view into an individual chapter each, but I will admit I did not want to do that, nor did I deem it necessary. That said I do hope you enjoy the chapter, it took a while and was pretty annoying to write. But it was important to at least show a bit, as it reveals some of the changes happening in the development in the rest of the team.**

 **Other than that, thanks a lot for reading and please do leave a review.**

 **If you have any questions feel free to PM me, I'm usually good at answer those. Also check out my other stories if you have the time.**

 **Thanks for reading, and I'll catch you later.**

 **Greed720.**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: So this chapter is late. That though it because it was really hard to write, already I've rewritten and played around with it multiple times, and still and not quite pleased. I'm not sure why, it maybe because I took a break, or because I'm bored of this story arc, but it was difficult.**

 **Still though I managed to preserve and got out something I am at least content with. I may come back to fine tune it later though.**

 **But yes, anyway here is the next chapter hope you all enjoy it and leave a review.**

 **Thanks for reading, please do check out my other stories if you have the chance.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the DC universe.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"Wally uses science to understand things that are out of his control. To admit that magic exists would be to let go of that control. Give him time and I am sure he will come around eventually," Percy replied after a few moments, he didn't know much about science, but he did know that, despite what Wally said, it didn't have an answer for everything. After all just look at him, he was a Demigod, he would be impressed if science could explain his existence._

 _"I hope so," M'gann muttered, only to be distracted as she saw Percy suddenly point straight ahead. Her hazel eyes shifting over to look at what he was pointing at, only for her to see that, on top of one of the snow banks, there was a doorway._

 _"Come on, let's head there." Percy muttered, leading the way, with M'gann following after him as he headed for the doorway. "Hn, I didn't see this mission becoming so troublesome. It makes me wonder what everyone else is doing with their day off?"_

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 16**

 **( - )**

 **(In the Tower of Fate)**

"Tell us Nelson, tell us where it is! Where is the Helmet of Fate?!" Abra snarled, his wand held out in front of him, bluish lightning flying it off it and shocking Kent Nelson's frail form. A cry of pain and anguish leaving the smartly dressed old man's mouth, but nothing else as the eighty plus year old man instead just curled up into a ball and weathered the taller, long, dark haired man's assault.

Standing just off to the side, Abra could see the pasty, pale skinned Klarion shrieking with glee. The immortal Lord of Chaos practically clapping his hands together in delight as he, Abra, his 'minion', tormented the old man. The Lord of Chaos's lips twisting into a horrific smile, at the sadistic abuse, his features distorting to become almost inhuman.

At his feet, Teekl, his black striped, orange furred, familiar purred. The red eyed, feline creature looping around one of Klarion's legs as his master shrieked in delight, gleefully showing its own enthusiasm for the ongoing abuse.

With the cat, like its despotic master revelling in the ongoing chaos and pain. The two of them looking for all the world like cartoonish caricatures of what people perceived mainstream villainy to be. It caused a shiver of disgust and shame to travel down Abra's spine, not that he was about to stop or leave like he wanted too.

No, he was too scared of the Witch Boy to do that. Klarion was a sadistic sacked of shit, one that cared about nothing, especially not other people's opinions of him. He was a Lord of Chaos. Pain, anger, fear, and all things negative, they were like a fine wine to him. The twisted little shit got off on things like torture.

Abra really didn't want to know what the demon child would do to him if he dared stray or stop.

"I said tell us, Nelson! Tell us, and the torture can stop!" Abra repeated, the taller, tanned man's face a rictus of disgust. Unlike his sallow skinned comrade, he was not enjoying this. Violence and torture, they were not things he enjoyed, and he certainly didn't get off on them like the demonic being beside him.

Unfortunately though he had no choice but to torture the information out of Kent Nelson. What with him being a stubborn old man; and the powers of the Lord of Fate being too powerful to just undo. That and they didn't have the time to find the Helmet of Fate in the conventional way, not with the junior Justice League members running around.

On top of which Klarion, he knew, didn't have the patience to go about things the slower, less effective way.

No, the Lord of Chaos was more likely to just destroy the entire tower and damn the consequences, than waste time searching through its many levels and breaking its enchantments; even if said tower had him, Abra, inside.

"Just tell us!" Abra snapped, ignoring Klarion's gleeful cackling.

"No," Kent Nelson gasped out, his quivering form visibly steaming as he remained curled up in a ball.

"I don't want to do this, but I will if I have too." Abra growled, his sweat slicked palms gripping his wand tighter. He might not be a wizard in the technical sense, with him instead using technology taken from the future to mimic magic, but he could still cause Nelson immense pain.

"Do your worst…" Kent whispered back.

Closing his eyes for a moment at that, Abra grit his teeth, and then opened them again, his dark eyes now cold, hard and filled with resolve. It seems he had no choice but to break the old man.

Before he could do anything though, an unfamiliar voice suddenly shouted at him from a few metres away. "Hey, you two, what the hell are you doing?!"

Snapping his head up at the sound, Abra's dark eyes quickly locked onto the source of the voice. His heavily lidded eyes narrowing as he saw two, athletic and costumed teens. One a redheaded boy, and the other a blonde girl. Both of them wearing costumes. The boy wearing one of red and yellow, a lightning bolt clearly visible on his chest. The other meanwhile was clad in green and carrying a bow.

More importantly though he also saw the familiar glowing cane the pair of them were holding between them. His attention dismissing the two teens for the moment, and instead locking onto the intense energy he could almost feel emanating off of the cane for a moment, his skin beginning to prickle, and the air on his arms rising, even as he noticed his companion's attention likewise captured by the cane.

"Stop th-" Klarion began to screech, only for his petulant words to freeze in his throat as the cane whizzed out of the hands of the teens, without warning, and flew across the room. The room which was filled with gravity and space defying staircases. The glowing cane slapping into Kent Nelson's palm moments later, before Klarion, his face more demonic than ever, and Abra, who was visibly fighting his shock, could even react.

"Return," Nelson hissed out feebly, his form glowing golden for a moment, before he vanished from where he was curled up at Abra's feet. Only for the old man to reappear a split second later between the two startled teens. His gnarled hands reaching out and gripping onto them both, before without another word, he vanished again in another flash of gold light.

"Nooo!" Klarion screeched out, flinging Abra away from him in his rage, his face distorting even further, and reddish black, magical energy flowing off of him as he let out another screech of rage. His feline familiar hissing in outraged too, its red eyes glowing and its fur standing on end. "That's not fair, that's cheating! Get after them Abra!"

 **( - )**

 **(Elsewhere in the Tower of Fate, with Percy and M'gann)**

A silence had overtaken both M'gann and Percy as, after jumping through the doorway in the 'pain of ice and snow', they now found themselves walking through what look like a museum to the occult.

All around them they could see plinths, glass containers, shelves and wall racks, all of which seemed to hold odd and unusual objects.

One of the plinths they passed, Percy could see had a large glass aquarium on top of it, within which was an odd, pure white tentacle monster thing, about the size of a man's torso, with burning red eyes, and sharp needle like teeth. The bizarre creature hissing at the sight of them, its sharp teeth bared menacingly, and its tentacles writhing around it, dancing futilely across its glass container.

Another one of the plinths they passed, he could see, held a claw like hand. Within which was clutched a thin black card, about the size and shape of a standard credit card, upon which Percy could see embossed, blocky golden text.

Leaning closer to the card as he passed, he was able to make out the words 'Get Out of Hell Free' on the card.

"Weird," Percy muttered, sending the card an uncertain look.

A part of him at first thought that the card was a joke, some parody of the monopoly, 'get out of jail free' card.

But a greater part of him, the one that had seen and done too much, knew that it was probably real. This belief of course was helped along by the fact that Percy had been in a literal hell-scape, Tartarus, and had been there for decades upon decades.

"I definitely could have done with one of these." He muttered to himself as he tore his gaze away from the odd card, and looked further down the gallery.

Glancing over at him as they continued walking, M'gann looked back and eyed the card curiously for a moment. Her hazel eyes flicking between the wry smile on his face, and the card.

"Come on let's keep on going," Percy continued, not giving the Martian a chance to comment as he instead pushed on through the gallery of odd, eccentric, esoteric mysteries. The two of them occasionally stopping here and there to examine some of the things they passed, their curiosity often getting the best of them. D

"Where do you think Mr Nelson is?" M'gann suddenly spoke up after ten minutes of relative silence. "Wally and Artemis too?" Tagging on the erstwhile missing member so the team, both of whom had vanished twenty odd minutes previously after grabbing a floating cane/ wand. Both of whom were now missing, and out of telepathic contact.

"I'm not sure," Percy replied looking around at his surroundings. The gallery they had been walking through was too big for the tower they were supposedly in. They had been walking for nearly half a mile now, and yet the end was not in sight, nor was the door they had come through to get here. "I doubt Artemis and Wally will be in any danger though, or at least any danger they can't handle. Kent Nelson is an ally of the League. Still though, I don't think just wandering around looking for them is helping. Not when it seems like the tower and its corridors are constantly shifting and changing."

Turning around, and looking back at the way they had come, a scowl passed across Percy's face at that thought.

He had experienced something like this before. It had been a long time ago, but his memories of the Labyrinth, the ever shifting and moving, living maze which lingered just below the surface of the earth, were still clear and present.

In the Labyrinth too, distance and space had seemed to distort.

A person could enter the Labyrinth in New York, walk for five minutes and then exit thousands miles away in California, with only five minutes having passed. Or they could walk for hours upon hours, and travel for miles, only to resurface just half a mile down the street from where they had started.

The Tower of Fate was giving him the same vibe.

"Oh wait, Hello Megan, I have an idea!" M'gann chirped up suddenly, distracting Percy from his thoughts as she lightly palmed her forehead, a movement and statement that was rapidly becoming the Martian's catchphrase.

"I'm all ears," replied Percy, a wry smile returning to his face as he tore his gaze from his surroundings and looked back at the pretty, green skinned girl.

"Well, what if we just ask the tower to take us to Mr Nelson?" She said, her head tilted cutely to the side.

Percy stared at M'gann in response, his expression blank as he mulled over her suggestion.

"Well, I mean it was just an idea." The redhead continued, her cheeks going a little pink. The colour contrasting oddly with her green skin tone. "Like, it worked before when we first entered, you know, I just thought it would work again."

"No, no your idea is good." Percy cut in, forestalling her babbling as he instead smile and gestured for her to go ahead. "I was just thinking to myself, 'it can't be that simple can it?', but no, I think it's definitely worth a try, so go for it."

"Okay," M'gann beamed. "So err, hello, we're looking for Kent Nelson, can you take us to him?" She then called out to the tower, a hopeful look on her face as she looked around and awkwardly spoke to the seemingly inanimate building.

A few moments of silence passed after her call, her words echoing oddly through the cavernous hallway.

"Well, as I said it was worth a try. It was certainly a better idea than just wandering around aimlessly." Percy said consolingly, patting the downhearted M'gann lightly on the shoulder.

Before M'gann could reply though, the both of them nearly jumped when a loud 'bang' sounded out above them. Their gazes snapping upwards only to see that a previously unnoticed door on the ceiling had opened, the ceiling itself noticeably, now they looked, having a carpet, and even more plinths and glass boxes, all of which were inverted, defying gravity and conventional logic as they hung above the two of them.

"Ok," Percy muttered, his gaze locked on the open door.

"Do you want me to fly you up there?" M'gann asked shyly.

"No, I think I should be fine." Percy replied, a thoughtful frown on his face for the moment as he eyed the odd setup on the ceiling, before he smiled slightly. "I want to test something out."

With that said, Percy bent his knees and then ran and jumped, his leap carrying him nearly a metre into the air, and a couple of metres forward. His body noticeably remaining in the air for longer than it should as he did so, before with a stomach turning jolt he felt his body twist, and his world spin as he landed on the floor and staggered a few steps forwards.

A deep breath leaving his mouth as he slowed down and came to a stop, looking up at the ceiling again. Only now he was looking at what had been the floor, complete with a shocked M'gann now looking down at him from where she was now stood.

"Ha, I thought so!" Percy grinned, a genuine smile of delight crossing his face as he looked around at what, was for him now, the ground and the still open door in the front of him. This place was turning into a real mind fuck.

"Percy, how…?" M'gann called down to him.

"Just close your eyes and jump, don't try to fly and don't over think it. Just do what I did!" Percy called back, craning his neck so he could look up at her from where he was stood.

"Ok, if you say so." M'gann replied, the Martian taking a few deep inhales and exhales as she did so, gearing herself up for what she was about to do, before without another word she copied his movements.

Percy kept his eyes on her as she did so, his gaze following her as he saw her unconsciously twist in the air, gravity seeming to fail for a moment as, she floated suspended for a second, before her feet hit the floor next to him. Her knees naturally bending, before she nearly fell. Nearly being the operative words, as he managed to catch her just before she did.

"T-that, was weird." M'gann, an alien from Mars that could literally flying using her mind, stuttered, clinging onto Percy as she tried to catch her breath.

"Yep," Percy nodded. "This place is a real mind fuck."

Taking a deep breath, M'gann nodded, noticeably still clinging to him as she did so. Her hands wrapping tightly around his arm, and her body leaning against his own, her red hair trailing down his right shoulder as she continued to lean on him whilst she caught her breath.

"You alright?" Percy asked kindly.

"Yes, just a bit disorientated." M'gann said, taking one more breath before she let him go and stood up. "That was an uncomfortable sensation."

"The loss of control?" Percy said, his tone gentle.

M'gann nodded.

"Well, it's over now. So deep breath," M'gann took another deep breath and exhaled. "And let's go." Walking forwards as he said this, Percy kept his hand on the hilt of his sword as he walked through the still open doorway, one that would hopefully lead to Kent Nelson, M'gann trailing along behind him.

 **( - )**

 **(A few moments later)**

The moment they stepped out of the doorway, both Percy and M'gann were immediately hit with a wall of cold, fresh air. Strong, icy wind whipping fiercely around the pair as they stepped out of a shimmering, golden doorway, seemingly set in mid-air. With the doorway vanishing behind them without a sound, the moment they stepped out of it and instead onto the roof of the tower.

A stone balustrade following the perimeter of the rooftop sheltered them from at least some of the wind, though not all as cold, fresh air still blew all around them. The cold, night air causing both Percy and M'gann's breath to mist as they took in the scene in front of them.

Currently there were five other people on the roof with them.

Wally and Artemis were the first ones to catch Percy's attention.

Both of them looked to be in the middle of a fight, Artemis holding her bow in front of her, one of her specialised arrows already nocked and aimed at a tanned, dark haired man in black leather trousers, and a baggy white shirt with too many buttons undone.

Kid Flash meanwhile was stood over another man, this one an elderly man in a smart, black suit. With the old man being either unconscious or dead. An unusually fierce scowl prominent on the overly talkative boy's face as he held the older man's limp body close to him, even as another suited person, this one a ghostly pale, dark haired, dark eyed teen, loomed over him.

Stepping out into the night air and taking all this in in a moment, Percy could only say one thing. "The fuck!"

This is not what he had expected. For one the old man, Kent Nelson, was dead, a simple exertion of his power told him that much. The man's heart was no longer pumping blood through the man's veins, which, in Percy's mind, clearly eluded to a person being deceased.

Secondly, he had not expected that the missing half of his team would be under attack.

He had expected that they would be here, and that the cane would have taken them to Kent Nelson, but he hadn't thought that there would be villains, he assumed, here too.

"Percy!" Artemis gasped out, a look of relief passing across her face at the sight of him.

"Oh yay, more toys." The suited teen cooed at almost the exact same time, his dark eyes fixed hungrily, maliciously, on M'gann and Percy. "Get them, Abra!"

In response, the now named Abra turned to look at them, his face set into a rictus of frustration as he shifted his wand away from Artemis and instead to where they were stood, even as the suited boy lunged for Wally, or rather Percy noted, at the innocuous looking, crested golden helmet beside, Wally.

 _'M'gann, deal with the long haired one, mind fuck him if you have too. I'll help Wally!'_ Percy reacted at once, his blade already halfway out of its sheath, and the air around him rippling as he threw his other hand forward, Seismic energy already erupting forth from his palm. The vibrational energy rippling through the air in a wave, as a wall of force flowed through the air and towards the shrieking teen.

 _'On it,'_ M'gann thought back, automatically connecting Percy, Artemis and Wally's minds to her own, creating a mental relay as Percy continued to send instruction.

 _'Artemis, get back and support M'gann. Kid Flash get the old guy out of here, and then fucking pull yourself together, he's dead!'_ His words weren't that sympathetic but they were certainly necessary.

Continuing his movements, Percy whipped his sword out, droplets of water forming and collecting around the blade as he flicked it out and at the tanned villain, a crescent of vibrating, condensed water exploding forth as he finished his swing.

 _'The one with the long hair is Abra Kadabra, a time traveller form the future who uses technology to mimic magic. The other one is called Klarion the Witch Boy, he's apparently a 'Lord of Chaos' whatever one of those are.'_ Artemis quickly summarised, breaking away from the now named Abra and retreating over to where Percy and M'gann were standing. Several images of her, Wally and the old man talking in an elevator flashing through the psychic connection, before M'gann handily filtered them out.

 _'Got it,'_ Percy thought back, watching as Abra suddenly gripped his head and let out a cry of anguish, a trail of blood leaking from his nose, even as the blade of water struck him head on. More blood spraying forth as the crescent of water sheared through his white shirt, and bit into the flesh beneath. The quickly formed attack cutting at least an inch deep into his muscled chest before dispersing. _'Take him out M'gann.'_

 _'On it,'_ M'gann shot back, swooping passed Percy as she did so, already taking to the air, her eyes glowing green as she thrust her hand forward. A telekinetic blast of energy knocking the shouting 'wizard' off of his feet and towards the balustrade, even as he fell back with a cry of pain; clutching the bloody gash across his chest.

 _'Watch out for tall, pale and creepy!'_ Artemis mentally called out, nocking and releasing an explosive arrow at the pale teen as he lunged at Wally his fingers extending and becoming claw like. The Witch Boy having easily defended himself from the wave of force Percy previously threw at him after using a dome like shield of reddish black energy, meaning that the wave of force had done little more than whip up the dust around him.

Hearing Artemis's warning, Kid Flash took advantage of the distraction and blurred away with both the helmet and Kent Nelson's body. The redhead reappearing behind where Percy stood.

"Get back here!" Klarion screamed, batting the arrows out of the air, and completely ignoring the way they exploded, blackish red energy again whipping off, and covering his form, protecting him from damage. Instead his dark eyes were on Wally, his face twisting into a truly demonic visage as he leapt forward. "Get him Teekl!"

At his words the orange and black cat, which had previously gone beneath notice, lunged forward. Its body twisting and growing mid-lunge, until it became almost as large as a garbage truck, its red eyes fixed on Wally as it bulled forward. Ignoring another explosive arrow from Artemis, the fire rolling off of its fur harmlessly.

 _'Artemis back!'_ Percy thought, lunging forward to intercept the charging cat, even as the archer back tracked. His sword whipping through the air as he ducked under a nonchalant swipe of the cat's paw and slashed it in the side. His blade biting deep into its colossal chest as he twisted passed it, his other hand slapping into its yowling side as he did so.

"No, Teekl!" Klarion screeched, shooting a literal beam of blackish red energy from out of his hands, and at Percy.

Before the beam could hit him however, Percy's freehand smacked into the side of the giant cat's chest, the beast's black blood having soaked into its shaggy orange fur, making it matted and tangled.

Ignoring the disgusting feeling of the cat's fur, Percy instead unleashed a wave of seismic energy directly into the cat's chest, mulching the beast's internal organs and sending it flying across the roof and into the balustrade as he did so.

"How dare you, Teekl!" Klarion shrieked, more blackish red energy leaking off of him as he vanished from his spot and reappeared beside the cat, the feline noticeably shrinking back to normal size, even as it's wounds began to heal as magical energy visibly began to flow from master to pet. "What kind of monster would attack a cat?"

Unfortunately, Percy didn't get the chance to answer this, as after blasting the cat away he had been forced to defend himself from the beam of blackish red energy. The fast moving attack having struck him head-on, the force knocking the sword from his hand and sending it clattering across the floor one way, even as he was lifted off of his feet and sent smashing into the stone balustrade on the other side of the tower to Klarion and his cat. His body visibly smoking, and his Celestial Bronze breast plate cracked and scorched. A single trickle of blood dripping down from his mouth as he struggled to stand up, using the crack and partially damaged balustrade as a support.

Apparently his resistance to magic, minor as it was, was not up to much against a Lord of Chaos, whatever one of those were.

That said, going off what he had seen so far, he was beginning to suspect that a Lord of Chaos was comparable to a fallen god or a Titan, a celestial being of some sort, or at least something along those lines.

 _'Percy!'_ Artemis and M'gann shouted in unison, both of them looking up from Abra's fallen body. The time travelling 'wizard' now bereft of his wand and currently bound up in reinforced metal restrains.

Both the Martian and the archer leaping into action, even as Percy tried to push himself up, spitting a mouthful of gold flecked red blood onto the floor as he pushed himself up. His sea green eyes tracing Artemis's movements as she shot arrow after arrow at Klarion, only for him to once again bat them aside with reddish black, energy enshrouded hands, the boy's livid black eyes fixed unerringly on Percy as he did so.

M'gann meanwhile had taken to the air, and taking a page out of Percy's book, had started creating crescent shaped blades of telekinetic energy, which she then proceeded to rain down on the Lord of Chaos.

Rolling his shoulders, Percy quickly made to join in the fight. His gaze flicking over to Wally, who he noticed had to yet move away from Kent Nelson, the paralysed redhead just staring down at the deceased old man in his arms, and not paying attention to anything else.

Scowling at this, Percy opened his mouth to verbally shout at the younger boy.

Unfortunately before he could, Klarion, after weathering Miss Martian and Artemis's attacks for half a minute, had had enough and counter attacked. The vengeful child's gaze still locked on Percy, and not on the two 'nuisances' currently, futilely, bombarding him with explosive/ sticky/ ensnaring arrows, and telekinetic attacks.

"Die filth!" Klarion cackled, throwing both his arms forward, orbs of black lightning forming in both hands as he flung them out at Percy, a large, crackling bolt of lightning erupting forth as he did so, towards the Demigod.

"Shit!" Percy cursed, throwing caution to the wind as he gave up on shouting at Wally, his gaze momentarily flicking to his sword a dozen or so metres away, before going back to Klarion, even as he unleashed his attack.

Taking a step forward, Percy thrust one hand out, his first two fingers extended whilst the rest of his hand was clenched. Whitish blue lightning already crackling across his extended fingers as he reached out and met the oncoming onslaught of black lightning.

The black lightning striking his hands moments after Klarion had formed it, the crackling energy charring the flesh of Percy's hands, blackening and cracking the skin as he drew his extended hand to him, channelling Klarion's lightning through his body, deftly avoiding his heart, before he then channelled it out of his other hand, and directly back at the Lord of Chaos.

The entire manoeuvre taking less than a second as he caught and then redirected the lightning, his right hand now smoking and charred, even as the black lightning was sent back at the shocked looking villain.

Only for the look of shock to vanish as quickly as it came, as Klarion with almost mocking ease then batted the black lightning away, dispersing it with a single energy enshrouded hand. The energy around the hand solidifying into the shape of a claw as Klarion then twisted and lashed out at M'gann and Artemis, his arm extending as he then promptly swatted M'gann out of the sky and sent her crashing into the startled Artemis.

"No!" Percy shouted, pushing back the pain he could feel coming from his mangled hand. Instinctively drawing on the moisture in the air and enshrouding the burnt appendage in the life giving fluid, even as he used his other hand to send out another rippling shockwave of Seismic energy.

The airborne earthquake smashing into Klarion once more, only to be dispersed as the Witch Boy created another defensive dome of energy. The Lord of Chaos's reaction time and mind moving far faster than Percy thought possible as the demon child reacted and acted in an instant.

"You're beginning to annoy me!" Klarion giggled, clear amusement on his face as he watched Percy face off with him, both Artemis and M'gann regaining their feet as the trio started to encircle the powerful mage. The demonic mage's cat, noticeably fully recovered, hissing at the Witch Boy's feet.

The entire engagement had only lasted a handful of minutes, and already Percy knew they were in trouble, this was a being on a completely other level to the other villains and monsters he had fought thus far in this world.

More and more Klarion was reminding him of a Titan, or something like it, only one that was not bound or restricted by the ancient laws.

Truly a terrifying thought.

"I'm beginning to wonder, what are you…?" Klarion cooed, the boy's head tilting curiously to the side as he once again ignored the Martian and archer and instead focused on Percy. "Not fully human, that's obvious. No, I smell something of the divine about you, something old, ancient even, and… fishy?"

"Fuck you!" Percy replied eloquently, the air around him suddenly picking up violently, and storm clouds rapidly forming overhead as he rolled his shoulders. His sea green eyes flicking down to his nearly fully healed hand for a moment, before flicking over to the battered looking Artemis and M'gann. _'Any chance you can break his mind, M'gann?'_

 _'No, I've already tried. His mind is all but impenetrable, and even brushing against it is painful.'_ M'gann replied promptly, fear and anxiety leaking through the mental connection as she glanced at Percy.

 _'Well we can't keep this up, nothing we do is effecting him. All we're doing is wasting our strength. We need a plan!'_ Artemis tagged on, the archer pulling another arrow from her noticeably depleted looking sheath as she before to encircle the smirking Lord of Chaos.

The entire mental conversation had taken barely seconds.

"Cute," Klarion giggled, his lips twisting into a vicious smile again. "Now, I think it time to charbroil the little fishy!"

With that said Klarion let out a grating high-pitched laugh, vibrant purple fire, hot enough to visibly melt the enchanted stone of the tower, bursting forth from his hands. One of the torrents heading for Percy, even as the other exploded towards the now visibly terrified M'gann.

Seeing this, Percy reacted in an instant. His decades of experience, and fine-tuned instincts forcing him to move before his mind even caught up with what was happening. The clouds above him now darkening faster, rainclouds beginning to form and droplets starting fall, even as the wind began to whip around him faster. The air becoming noticeably denser and thicker, as Percy started to create a truly colossal storm. His gut practically burning as he drew on one of his Father's lesser known Domains, that of Storms.

But it wasn't enough though.

He knew already that, even as he found his body rushing to intercept the torrent of impossibly hot, purple, magical fire headed for M'gann, his teammate who was fatally weak against fire.

Wrenching the water out of the air, Percy solidified the liquid into a dome in front of him with his left hand, even as his right shifted over to the most expendable, and easy to access, source of 'water' on the rooftop. Abra.

With barely a thought, still driven as he was by pure instinct, Percy ripped the blood out of Abra's bloody, the crimson life giving fluid exploding out of the man's cut up chest and merging with the dome of solidified and reinforced water in front of Percy, who himself was now in front of both Artemis and M'gann.

The frothy pink liquid solidifying just as the stream of purple fire struck, the barrage of flames increasing as the snarling Klarion brought his other torrent of fire to bear on him, the purple flames that poured from both hands merging as they struck the dome of water.

In an instant coppery smelling steam began to fill the air, and sweat began to drip down Percy's face as more and more of his water, bolstered as it was by both Abra's blood and the increasing rainfall, began to evaporate.

The flames were magical, and thus far hotter than normal flames. Even shielded as he was by the water, and his resistance to heat, he could feel the effects of the heat.

Already he was finding it difficult to breathe, and his vision was beginning to waver.

Letting out a gasp, Percy dropped his arms moments after Klarion's flames ceased. The area in front of him noticeably blacked, with the stone blocks themselves looked more like blackened glass than stone.

Desperately trying to draw in a breath of air, Percy took a split second to take note of the situation. M'gann was slumped on the ground behind him, the slight movement of her stomach the only sign that she was just passed out, and not dead. Artemis, her face liberally drenched in sweat, was on all floor beside the Martian, the blonde, like Percy, drawing in deep, rasping breaths. Her arms noticeably shaking as she looked up at him.

They had survived the potency of the flames, even if it had all but evaporated all of Percy's available water.

The heat though, the heat was what had hit them worse, with both M'gann and Artemis suffering far more than him due to one of them being naturally weak to fire and the other not having heat resistance like Percy. Heat stroke, and extreme heat syncope, those two were the worst effects of Klarion's assault.

"Artemis," Percy said verbally, his breathing rapidly steadying, and his pink skin returning to its normal tone. The now heavy rain falling down around him, creating puddles on the rooftop; reinvigorating him, settling his aching gut and alleviating his pounding headache. "Get M'gann and Kid Flash, and get out of here. I'll hold this guy off."

Letting out a few rasping gasps, Artemis looked up at his words. Her eyes shifting to meet his, her exhaustion and worry plain to see.

Only for her eyes to then shift passed him, her jaw going slack as she did so.

Following her gaze, Percy saw the leer on Klarion's face, the Witch Boy's arms visibly covered in claws of reddish black energy, black lightning rolling off of his cackling form as he made to attack them again.

But the Witch Boy was not what Artemis was looking at. Instead her attention was on the redheaded speedster who was now behind Klarion, unseen as Percy and the others drew Klarion's attention. The body of Kent Nelson noticeably resting peacefully at Wally's feet, even as the red head lowered the golden Helmet of Fate onto his head, his green eyes locking first with Percy's and then with Artemis, before they suddenly shone a bright golden colour as he fully donned the helmet.

 **( - )**

Almost at once, a flash of golden light spread-out through the entire rooftop, the light forcing both Percy and the weary Artemis to look away, and Klarion to let out a scream of anger as he twisted around and saw what was happening behind him.

Forcing his eyes open, Percy gritted his teeth as he saw Kid Flash's body rise into the air.

Only he was not the Kid Flash that Percy remembered. For one he was now wearing the crested golden helmet, a pair of golden greaves, boots and bracers, and a golden belt and cape. Clashing with all the gold, Wally was also wearing a blue, full body suit, and had an ornate golden necklace, within which Percy could see a ruby, the size of a pigeon egg, set.

Kid Flash no longer looked like Kid Flash, instead he wore the same costume, and had the look, of the holographic picture of Doctor Fate, that Red Tornado had shown them.

Kid Flash was no more, he had been replaced with Fate.

"Wally!" Artemis rasped out, struggling to stand up.

"Kid Flash!" Percy cut in sharply, taking a step forward as he did so, water now cloaking his form and, the storm clouds overhead and the wind, growing in strength and ferocity.

"No, no, no! This isn't fair!" Klarion screamed at the same time, stamping his foot on the ground in petulant outrage.

Kid Flash, or rather Doctor Fate, didn't reply to any of them, or at least not verbally. Instead the golden cloaked man just raised his hands, a glowing golden ankh forming in the air in front of him, a beam of pure golden light exploding forth from it as he did so.

Klarion let out an incoherent scream in response and threw up a shadowy shield, blocking the golden light. Only for the Witch Boy to then lash out in turn, both the Lord of Chaos and Lord of Order lashing out at each other.

With Fate flying through the air dodging Klarion's bolts of lightning, busts of fire, tendrils of shadow and many other types of brutal, destructive magic, even as he responded in kind. Unleashing golden beams of light, and swathes of golden fire at the Witch Boy in return.

"Artemis, get M'gann and retreat, use one of those ropes of yours and abseil you both down the tower." Percy hissed, his gaze locked on the ongoing fight as he caught his breath. He was going to need to interfere, after all the two battling wizards, despite looking to be in a stalemate, were clearly not. Wally/ Fate was slowing down and tiring. For some reason the Lord of Order was not a match to the Lord of Chaos at the moment.

"What about you, what about Wally?" Artemis replied, her tone still tired. Though notably she had regained her feet, and her breath.

"I'll help him out, but things will probably get messy. I don't want you or M'gann getting caught up as collateral damage." Percy replied softly, his gaze flicking sideways to where his sword lay, just in front of where the magical goliaths were still slugging it out.

"But..." Artemis began.

"Just do it!" He cut her off sharply. "This is an order from your team leader, Artemis. At the moment M'gann is unconscious and you are exhausted, both of you will just be in danger and get in the way!"

Artemis sucked in a sharp breath at that, the look on her face inscrutable for a moment, before with a scowl she reluctantly nodded, silently giving her affirmation as she looped an arm around and under the insentient Martian's body and began to lift the petite girl up, and limp over to the tower's stone balustrade.

Nodding his silent thanks to the scowling girl, Percy started forward, his eyes flicking between Klarion and Fate as they clashed. A stream of eldritch purple fire clashing against a golden ankh that was seemingly made of pure magic.

Fate's form visibly flickering as he tried to hold off Klarion's fire, his gold and blue apparel shimmering, revealing slight glimpses of Kid Flash's outfit beneath.

Doctor Fate's power was failing, his possession, or whatever the hell was going one, was beginning to time out.

Seeing this, Percy made his decision.

Forming a trident of water, he ran forward, the trident turning to ice as he hurled it at Klarion's exposed back, his speed and strength enhanced by the falling rain as he continued to sprint forward and then slide on the surface water covering the roof, his body position low and solid.

Twisting around with preternatural speed and reflexes, Klarion swatted the trident of reinforced ice away with barely any effort, a sneer spreading across his face as the trident of ice, which had been thrown hard enough to pierce through at least a foot of concrete, shattered. "Is this truly all you can do, godspawn!"

Percy didn't reply to Klarion, despite the Lord of Chaos identifying him as a child of a god. Instead he continued forward, his hand clasping around the hilt of his Drakonbone sword, even as he then swept it up and round in a single fluid motion.

His movements taking him within Klarion's guard, the sneer on the boy's face freezing as he seemed to only just realise Percy's proximity to him, and the fact that his sword was in mid-swing.

Grinning tightly at the expression on the boy's face, Percy followed through with his swing, the tip of the sword piercing through the Lord of Chaos's chest, near to his hip, and then tearing up and through his chest in a diagonal strike, water vibrating rapidly on the blade, extending and sharpening it even further.

In response Klarion, who had already begun to move to avoid the worst of the strike, let out a shriek of rage and pain, pure force exploding outward from him as he did so, and then smashing into Percy at point-blank range. The explosion of force hitting him before he could following through with his attack and unleash an earthquake empowered punch to Klarion's head, shattering the Witch Boy's skull and mulching his brains.

Unfortunately though that plan was not to be, as instead Percy found himself flying backwards, bouncing several times across the roof as he did so, before he hit the side of the tower's balustrade with a loud "ooph" and a gasp of pain.

The shockwave Klarion unleashed likewise sending both Doctor Fate, and the Witch Boy's own cat, Teekl, flying as well. The shockwave also causing the raging, black storm clouds overhead to start to disperse as well, and the deluge of rain that had assaulted the roof top and surrounding area, to stop too.

"Enough! This is getting boring!" Klarion screamed out, stamping his foot on the ground, his demonic face twisting into a rictus of outrage as he glared at the ragged and battered Percy and Doctor Fate, even as the pair of them pushed themselves up and got to their feet. Black smoke noticeably hissing from the slash on his chest. "Boring, boring, boring! Why can't you killjoys just die?!"

A few metres away from him, Percy could see the demonic cat, Teekl, getting to its feet to, the cat mewing wearily as it did so.

"Fate does not give up, Fate is inevitable." Doctor Fate replied bluntly, his tone deep and powerful, and very unlike Wally's voice. Fate's green eyes, Wally's eyes, locking coldly on Klarion for a moment, before they then flicked over, first to Percy, and then to the cat.

"Fate!? Fate is not inevitable, only chaos is! Chaos is inexorable and unstoppable!" Klarion sneered back, his lip curling up in anger and hate. "That is the one true, truth!"

"We will see!" Fate replied, his deep voice reverberating from behind his helmet as he rose into the air, his cape flapping about behind him, and his clenched fists glowing with golden energy.

"Bring it, Fate!" Klarion spat.

Pushing himself up, Percy ignored his tiredness as he instead gripped his sword tighter, preparing to make his own attack as he saw the two immensely powerful beings facing off.

Before he could make his move though, Fate looked over at him, intense green eyes locking with hard sea green ones. "Attack the cat! It's his anchor, the one thing allowing him to stay in this world."

With that said Fate unleashed a golden beam of magic light in the direction of Klarion, forcing the sneering Lord of Chaos to create a dome like shield in front of him. Not that this shield did much good as the attack was not directed at him, but rather at the animal behind him and several metres away from Percy

The attack striking stone and forcing the cat, which had managed to dodge, to leap away and towards Percy, who in turn reacted by trying to cut the beast in half.

Before he could however, Klarion, realising what was happening, threw caution to the wind and sent a blast of pure black magic at Percy. His actions leaving him open to another attack from Fate, whose own bolt of golden light speared the Lord of Chaos through the chest.

Not that Klarion seemed to care, as with a cry of pain, and more black smoking hissing from the wound in his chest, the Witch Boy instead stepped into his own shadow and reappeared near to Percy, still wreathed in shadow, Teekl held closely in his arms. "Attacking a defenceless animal? I'll make you pay for that!"

Changing the trajectory of his sword slash, Percy went for a decapitating blow on Klarion.

Before he could land the strike however, the Witch Boy created a crackling, glowing red portal beneath his feet and disappeared, with a single last threat. "This isn't over, godspawn!"

Following on from which both Percy and Doctor Fate were left alone on the rooftop. Or at least that was what he had thought, before, moments later the slight shuffling from nearby caught his attention as he looked to the side and saw a wide eyed Artemis, and conscious, though very dazed and confused M'gann looking back at him.

"Hey…" Percy muttered, his voice slightly strained.

Neither of the two girls got the chance to reply though, as moments later they found their attentions drawn to Doctor Fate as he levitated in the air for a moment, looking down on them. "I don't know what you are, Perseus Jackson. You are neither god nor mortal, nor Demigod, but instead something else, something in between, something dangerous, an abomination. Already I can sense the taint of chaos that lingers on you, it clings to your form like a veil, seeking to infect and contaminate you."

Percy, didn't know what to say in response to that, in fact all he could do was tense, his grip on his sword tightening as he saw Fate's golden booted feet land lightly on the floor just in front of him, his eyes still fixed on the Demigod. "Be warned, Perseus Jackson, do not upset the balance."

With those last parting words, Doctor Fate raised his hands and pulled off his helmet. The green eyes of Wally West rolling back into his head as, the moment the helmet was removed, he fell forward, bouncing off of Percy and hitting the floor, unconscious.

"Well shit…" Percy muttered, his gaze following the speedster as he hit the floor, his body not far not from the corpses of both Kent Nelson and Abra Kadabra. "This didn't exactly go how I thought it would…"

 **( - )**

 **AN: Yeah so there was a lot of action in this chapter, perhaps too much I worry. I'm sure it will prove contentious to some due to what happened, but what can I say, you can't please everyone.**

 **Still the story arc is not pretty much over, the next chapter will pick up on a few of the consequences and the aftermath of what went down, even as I start to progress the plot. Now the story will still follow the Young Justice Storyline, though obviously there will be major changes, all of which have been caused by Percy's presence.**

 **As such somethings that happened in canon won't happen, and instead will be replaced with other arcs, and other things will happen in a completely different manner. On top of that I am planning out a few original-ish story arcs for Percy. One involves Atlantis, one involves Themyscira, one the New Gods, and finally one will involve a popular animated DC film (there was an easter egg for this one). These arcs will pop up every now and then, and will involve Percy and others in new adventures. On top of that there will be other stuff happening, including the league, Batman, Percy's godly nature and lot's of other good stuff.**

 **Suffice to say I've got a lot of stuff I want to cover, and have sketched out plans for. Whether I manage to though, considering I've perhaps got too much, is another thing. But still, I'll do my best.**

 **So yeah, other than that, thanks a lot for reading and I hope you leave a review and check out my other stories.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Greed720.**


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